No Thanks Necessary
by Sammery
Summary: Blood does not necessarily make family. This is about people making their own family and finding friendships that strengthen them when logic says that they should just fall down. Unlikely people will come together to create a family of choice, blood be damned, and adventures and trials ensue. No pairings (at least as of now)
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Prologue

* * *

Kiba Inuzuka tucked his small hands into his armpits to keep them warm as he darted along the shadows of the normally bustling streets of Konoha. With practiced ease, he slipped through streets that grew increasingly narrow and messier as he moved towards the poorer area of town. Here pot holes went unfilled and dirt that had been smashed down by traffic was never evened out by a genin team as a mission for public upkeep. The buildings could all do with a good clean, and, increasingly more common as he continued down his path, new windows and doors would not be remiss either.

Finally arriving at his destination, the boy darted up rickety stairs towards the top floor. He moved to the last door at the end of the hall and raised his arm to knock out a specific rhythm against the old wood, its painted color long since faded beyond a description.

There was a shuffling noise inside and a quiet, "Kiba?" from within.

"Yeah, it's me." Kiba replied softly.

A series of locks were clicked out of place and soon the door opened to reveal a pajama clad Naruto Uzumaki. The blonde wore a sleeping cap whose buck teeth usually never failed to get a snicker out of Kiba who thought it looked like some mutant monster was chewing on his friend's head.

It usually never failed to get its laugh.

But not tonight.

Naruto didn't ask any questions about why the other boy was there.

He never asked questions.

Not on the nights when the Inuzuka came to seek refuge. Instead, he just pulled the young boy inside.

With movements well practiced by experience, the pair pulled out a futon from the closet and Naruto finished setting it up while Kiba changed into a pair of pajamas he had left stashed there. It was a well-rehearsed scene and one had to wonder how it was that these two rambunctious boys who were just a bit _too alike_ to get along most days at school could so seamlessly move about each other now.

Yet they did.

Naruto slipped back into his covers as Kiba shifted around to get comfortable on the futon.

"You good?" Naruto asked quietly.

It was a loaded question. A million little questions with big answers all rolled into two words.

_Was he comfortable?_

_Did he need anything else?_

_Did he want to talk about it?_

_Was he ever going to tell someone else why he didn't feel safe in his own home some nights?_

Kiba grunted.

The answers were too big to move past the lump in his throat and so all he could do was grunt a semblance of a response to the other boy. He focused instead on stopping the tears from falling as he turned so his back faced Naruto even though that made his hip dig into the floor in a numbingly painful way.

Naruto just sighed.

Kiba knew the boy wanted answers, but he also knew that Naruto wouldn't push.

That's why Kiba felt safe here.

It would be years before Kiba would understand the irony of feeling safe in the home of the village pariah instead of in his own home, the family compound of one of the biggest clans in Konoha.

"Night Kiba." Naruto whispered softly.

Clenching his eyes shut, Kiba pushed hard against the blockage in his throat.

"Night."

_Thanks_.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 1

* * *

Shikamaru always thought that he was an observant person.

Mostly because it gave him something to do when he was ignoring whatever lesson was being taught in the classes that he was presently trying to nap through. He knew this stuff already so what would be the point of actually following class? Instead he caught up on his sleep, occasionally cut, but most often feigned sleeping while keeping a critical eye on the people around him. It seemed more practical to him than to waste his time on the lessons because you learned who people really were by watching them when they didn't know they we being studied. It's only then that you can see natural reactions and behaviors. The little ticks and triggers of each person that may be only minor things, but as a unique marker to a specific person can speak volumes.

That was how he learned how desperately out of place the pink-haired Sakura Haruno felt in this class with an unusually high number of clan kids, many of whom were the children of the heads of their respective clans. Not coming from any kind of ninja background of any renown, the young girl dove into her books determined to be the perfect ninja and learn everything and be just as good as those with a family background.

That was how he learned of the not so subtle crush the Hyuuga heiress Hinata had on the loudmouth blonde Naruto Uzumaki. Not that she hid it particularly well, but Shikamaru knew _weeks _ahead of the other kids. And dang if he could every figure out that attraction.

He also noticed that some days, with no pattern or reason that he could see, Naruto would be more upbeat and yet somehow calmer at the same time. And for the life of him Shikamaru couldn't think of what it would mean or what the cause could be that would make the smile switch from spastic grin to something so genuine it was _heartbreaking_. That particular observation always made Shikamaru's brain hurt and his chest tight. As far and above his classmates as he was, the Nara heir had no frame of reference to give words to the emotions that would sweep through him as he reflected on the change in behavior. The blonde would sit without fidgeting in his seat, actually paying attention to their lectures and even taking notes. Shikamaru was the one who couldn't sit still those days.

This was also his first glimpse of the unfair treatment said blonde received almost universally around their village. Thankfully their main teacher, Iruka Umino, seemed to view the boy as any other student, but their other teachers, for taijutsu or shuriken practice, seemed to have something out for the boy. Shikamaru himself had corrected Naruto's grip on the lethal little metal stars once after he noticed that it would be incredibly easy for the blonde to chop his own fingers off if he continued to throw as he had been once they started using sharpened weapons, not dulled practice ones. Naruto had protested that sensei had shown him that specially, but finally tried Shikamaru's way after seeing the Nara's significantly better accuracy than his own dismal attempts.

The same thing happened with taijutsu. Shikamaru had watched out of the corner of his eye with growing incredulity as the instructor forced Naruto into a stance that would render the blonde rather easy to throw off balance and was almost asking for the kid to get his ass kicked. Which Kiba Inuzuka had promptly done in a quick spar a few minutes later, and it was quick. Two moves had Naruto eating dirt and Kiba claiming victory.

His multitudes of observations of his classmates throughout their school days also showed him how interesting, in the same manner of a puzzle, the brash Inuzuka was as well. That was how he learned that some days Kiba Inuzuka came to school looking more lethargic than the Nara himself, in the same clothes as the day before. Oddly though, on those days Kiba was one of the first students there, and usually one of the last to leave, trudging out of the doors at the end of the day, shoulders slumped over and feet dragging as he began to make his way home. On those days Kiba's homework had failed to be completed and the boy couldn't even be convinced to cut classes. He was more like a Nara than an Inuzuka those days, just putting his head down in class, and feigned sleep much like Shikamaru often did, rather than focus on the lessons being presented.

And the Nara also noticed that this behavior was displaying itself with alarmingly increasing frequency.

And finally, it was after a month of observation, on the day of that spar when Kiba sent Naruto into the dirt with rapidity, that Shikamaru noticed the connection.

It was Kiba holding out his hand to the blonde and Naruto taking it instantaneously, and without anger to be helped back to his feet. There was mild frustration on his face, but only at having lost. Normally, Naruto would jump up and point his finger at the classmate that had beaten him, declare himself the next Hokage and lay down another challenge. This was such a common occurrence in their classes that Shikamaru was already preparing himself to tune it out.

But not this time. Instead, the blonde just screwed his brows together as though trying to figure out what went wrong. Kiba leaned closer for just an instant and said something to Naruto as an uncharacteristically serious face slid into place on the blonde. Then Kiba walked away with a small wave that could have been just a jerk of the hand to anyone who wasn't paying attention, to challenge someone else and Shikamaru watched as Naruto, all alone, dropped into his stance again and began to shift it in small ways until he had something _approaching_ decent.

Shikamaru had smiled and re-focused back on his own spar which he had actually won, but found himself absurdly happy that someone else was watching out for Naruto, because he was sure that Kiba had told the Uzumaki how to correct his stance. And the behavior wasn't a surprise to Naruto either.

_That_ surprised Shikamaru a bit. The two gave no impression of being anything more than members of the same class. So that Naruto and Kiba clearly had something other relationship going on was rather surprising to the Nara.

And he was interested in trying to figure it out.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 2

* * *

Naruto remembered the first time that Kiba had spent the night at his place.

Naruto had been out late training (or practicing his shuriken tossing and failing miserably and ultimately loosing most of the fickle weapons to the dark…so…training) and had been finally making his way home. He ignored a few pointed glares and linked his hands behind his head (makes it harder to hit) and whistled as he made his way down the roads. The loud whistle blocked out the sound of their whispers so he kept it up only louder, forcing his ears to focus on that.

So he had missed the pounding footsteps.

His breath flew out of him with force as he rocketed off of his feet and to the side, clutching his ribs as he caught his breath and blinked the stars out of his eyes.

Sprawled on the ground next to him was Kiba Inuzuka, a loud boy from his class at the Academy.

Naruto didn't particularly like Kiba. It wasn't so much anything that the boy had done, or failed to do. It wasn't anything to do with the way that Kiba treated Naruto, because Kiba barely had Naruto even on his radar and so treated the blonde the way that he treated everyone else who wasn't part of his group. It was that Kiba acted so much like Naruto. He was loud and brash and in your face. He laughed hard and long and liked to pull pranks. He wasn't the smartest kid in the class and often gave stupid answers in class.

He was just like Naruto.

But people _liked_ him. No one pointed fingers or taunted him. No parents pulled their kids away from him on the playground. Why was _Kiba_ okay, but _Naruto_ wasn't? It wasn't fair!

So he didn't like Kiba and tried to avoid the boy when possible because seeing him caused an ache deep within his chest, and a cold weight would settle making it just a bit difficult to breathe.

But Kiba was crying.

Rivers of tears streamed down the red fang marks on his cheeks as the brunette pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. It was the kind of cry that you didn't want others to see. The kind of cry that physically hurt as it racked your lungs and raged through your body. It wasn't pretty or cute, it was the sort of cry that shouldn't fit inside so small a body.

Naruto was well familiar with that kind of cry.

He darted his eyes around the street seeing if anyone else was around. If anyone saw this right now they would assume that Naruto had done something to his classmate and he would really be in for it.

He breathed a short sigh of relief when he saw that there was no one else about and focused back on his classmate. He was surprised that Kiba hadn't jumped up and yelled at Naruto for getting in his way. Or called him a moron. Or just screamed something pointless and run off.

Instead sobs tore through the boy even as he tried to push it down. The more he fought it, the worse it became.

Naruto reached out a small hard slowly towards a trembling fist clenching into the dusty road, "Are you okay?"

"I'm _fine_!" the boy growled out, rubbing harshly against his eyes to try and stop the tears from falling.

Naruto let his hand drop hearing the boy's tone. "Oh…okay…"

The pair sat there in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do or how to proceed.

Then Kiba's stomach growled loudly, startling the poor boys but finally working to stem the tears of the Inuzuka.

"Um…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Are you hungry?" He pointed up towards a small building at the end of the street. "That's my place if you want something to eat."

Kiba darted his eyes between the blonde and the dilapidated building he was pointing towards, sniffling lightly.

"Your parents won't mind?"

A small sad smile rested on Naruto's face for a moment, "Don't have any. I live alone."

"But you're eight!" Kiba exclaimed, too shocked at the information to remember why he had been upset in the first place.

Naruto shrugged. He didn't know what to say so he just stood up and brushed off his pants before reaching out a hand to Kiba to help him do the same.

The Inuzuka eyed it for a moment before biting the bullet and grabbing the dirty hand. "Alright."

After a meal of instant ramen and cheese sandwiches, Kiba rested his head on the table, feet swinging free, as Naruto cleaned the dishes in the sink, standing on a small stool so he could be tall enough.

Naruto glanced back, placing the last dish in the strainer before sighing slightly. "Are your parents going to be worried?"

Kiba sorted and turned his head the other way so that Naruto could only see the back of his head. "Doubt they'll even notice I'm gone." He murmured.

Naruto tilted his head curiously. He didn't know what it was like to have a parent but in his mind it was someone who was always there to welcome you home. Naruto never felt loneliness so keen as that first moment through the door at the end of the day. The stale air that hadn't moved because there was no one else moving about, the perfect silence punctured only by the cycling of the refrigerator, it would all slam into him at once and he always had to fight to take that first step in because the urge would always hit him to just slam the door and run away. To not face the terror of that empty place all alone. But the moment would pass and Naruto would enter and move about in silence because he had nowhere else to go.

"What do you mean?"

The blonde genuinely could not understand.

"They're fighting." Kiba sighed, "They're always fighting."

"Your mom and dad?"

Kiba grunted. "Mom. Dad. Everybody…"

Naruto bit his lip. "Well…you could stay here tonight if you want…?" Naruto had never had anyone stay at his place before. In fact, the only person other than Kiba that he had ever invited inside was Old Man Hokage. Having made the offer seemed somehow momentous, important to Naruto as one of those _things_ that normal kids did that he had never had the chance to do. Even though he _knew_ that this was not a sleepover like other kids had. He knew that this was far more serious than that, still…he couldn't help but feel some sort of wondrous joy at the thought that he could wake up in the night and hear someone else breathing and know that he was not alone.

Kiba turned his head to face the blonde once more and studied the boy. Naruto fidgeted under the gaze and wouldn't meet Kiba's eyes.

"Thanks." Kiba finally said, settling his head down once more on his arms.

After that, whenever Kiba was scared at home, when the screaming got too loud, or the thunking of tossed objects grew too close to his door, the boy would slip out of his window and head across town, to beat out his little rhythm on the blonde's door, who welcomed him in without question.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 3

* * *

Shikaku Nara stretched out a crick in his neck as he meandered down the road from the village proper to the edges where his clan's compound was located. At his side was the silent Shibi Aburame whose home was also in that general direction.

The pair was heading home from a jounin council meeting where they had been revamping the village safety procedures. He hated those meetings. They were always long and drawn out, with people rambling on and on and on and in the end they just ended up doing whatever it was that Shikaku himself had suggested in the first few minutes. If they would just get over having to hear themselves speak, they could all just get out of there a lot sooner and be back with their families instead of stuck around an oval table listening to grown adults bitching and whining like children.

There was a loud thumping bang-like sound that echoed from another compound off the road.

"The Inuzukas are sure riled up tonight." He grunted glancing over towards the canine clan.

"Are they ever not?" Shibi countered, moonlight tinting off of his glasses as he shifted them on his nose behind his high collar.

"Hmmm," Shikaku hummed in agreement waving off Shibi as the bug user turned off to his own family's home and continued on to his.

* * *

With instincts honed by years of experience on the battlefield, Shikaku jolted awake in what most would deem the silence of his own bedroom, on complete alert and ready to lash out or bolt at a moment's notice.

He took in the dark stillness of the room and understood no immediate threat was hurtling towards him.

But he _had_ heard it.

He was out of the room, tugging on his mesh armor shirt before his wife could even wake up or nag him about waking her up as he got out of bed.

Again.

There it was.

"Mr. Nara! Mr. Nara!"

He was at the door, yanking it open when a sleepy eyed Shikamaru stood in his own doorway trying to figure out what was going on, rubbing the back of one fist against his right eye.

Shikaku tore the door fully open to see young Hana Inuzuka bolting up the front path, mostly out of breath, cheeks reddened from the effort, but not slowing.

She scaled the steps and bent over, hands on her knees.

"Kiba…" she gasped, "Here…?"

"Is your brother here?" Shikaku clarified, voice tense, his mind instantly jumping to the Hyuuga incident years before when Shikamaru's classmate Hinata had been kidnapped as an attempt to steal the Byakugan. Was someone else stealing clan children? Even though the Inuzuka's didn't have a bloodline limit, they had powerful stamina and the inherit ability to understand the speech of canine's and fierceness in battle would be a powerful aide to any army.

Hana bobbed her head incessantly, her eyes looking up hopefully at the Nara leader.

Shikaku shook his head. "I'm sorry, we were all asleep. Your brother isn't here."

Hana's eyes dimmed and her legs shook under her. "Where could he be…?" She whispered, fear edging into her voice.

"Here." A dull voice spoke suddenly and Shikaku glanced down to see his own son offering the girl a glass of water, which she gulped gratefully.

Kiba was Shikamaru's age Shikaku thought idly.

"How about you tell me what's going on and then I can try and help you find your brother." Shikaku proposed.

Hana's hand shook as Shikamaru took back the now empty glass and she let Shikaku steer her to the edge of the porch where she took a seat.

"Kiba wasn't in his room." She said shortly. "And most of the dogs are off on a hunting mission, the others lost his scent at the stream."

So Kiba was actively trying to avoid being found. Interesting. "And he's nowhere in the house." That wasn't a question. An Inuzuka would always know who was in their house. "And you checked all of his friends?"

"We're doing it now." She bit her lip and looked like she was fighting back tears. "I was just at the Aburames and then I came here because you're close."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. "Kiba can take care of himself." He offered, carefully watching the young girl. "I'm sure he's fine."

She waved a hand in the air, "I'm sure he is. He spends more nights away from home than he does in it lately."

She stopped suddenly and clasped her hands over her mouth, staring up at shock at the jounin who smile mirthlessly.

"Why doesn't he stay at home?"

Hana looked utterly miserable. "I can't really say…"

Shikaku sighed, "So something is going on at home. Something that scares you into silence and Kiba to the point where he can't even remain in the house. If it's happening so frequently it has to be something within your immediate family. The question then is, where is Kiba running to for safety?" Shikaku didn't force the answers out of the girl, he already had a million scenarios in his mind. Most of which weren't too pleasant.

"If it's happening frequently we should have heard about it by now. People gossip and we should have heard about the son of the Inuzuka clan head frequently staying with another family." Shikaku paused. "Unless he's cycling to more than one and they don't know it…"

"It would seem not." Tsume Inuzuka stepped out of the darkness, a tired expression on her face.

A gruff voice came from behind her and the tired expression turned to one of intense anger.

"None of his friends know where he is. And he hasn't been staying with any of them either." A large man, wide in the chest and almost nothing but muscle walked up the path, his facial expression contorted in annoyance and anger and something else that Shikaku feared very much to be rage. Biyoku Inuzuka was infamous within Konoha and so needed no introduction.

"Dad…" Hana whispered, tense.

And all of Shikaku's fears about the home life of Kiba and Hana Inuzuka were confirmed.

"The little brat shouldn't be running around on his own!"

"Well maybe he wouldn't need to run off if _someone_…"

Shikaku stood up suddenly, "Tsume please!"

She shut her mouth, but continued to glower at her husband.

"The important thing here is to find Kiba."

"Um…" Shikamaru coughed behind him and the assembled group turned to look at Kiba's classmate. "Has anyone checked with Naruto?"

Shikaku knew his own eyes flashed wide for a moment but that ended when he heard the growl.

"With…_that_…?!"

Biyoku was turning purple with rage and he quickly turned and bolted away, Tsume on his heels, "Don't you dare harm that boy!"

Shikaku knew of the man's temper. It had landed him on suspension more times than the Nara cared to remember and he found himself taking off after the man as well, trying desperately to catch up, even though trying to match an Inuzuka in speed was like trying to keep a single grain of sand from falling – namely impossible. Nevertheless, he pushed chakra through his legs and dashed off into the night, hoping that what he feared would not be coming to pass, tossing a "Stay here!" back towards Hana who Yoshino was steering inside, trying to ignore the fear in his own son's eyes.

Both of them knew that this night would be ended badly for someone.

And logically, statistically, realistically, the blonde was in trouble.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 4

* * *

Kiba had only a quick moment of warning as the screech of his mother's voice screaming through the still night air pierced his ears. He jolted awake, sitting up immediately, muscled tensed as the door to Naruto's apartment flew off the hinges and slammed through the apartment to the wall less than a foot away from Kiba's own head, splintering on contact due to the sheer force.

Naruto jerked up at the loud sound, yelling out some nonsense into the dark, but there was no time really to react because all of a sudden there was a hulking mass of muscle standing right at the edge of the bed and Naruto was grabbed up by one massive hand which clenched around the small child's throat without care.

Legs kicked at air as Naruto's hands scratched and tugged ineffectually against the brawn of a man.

Kiba scrambled to his feet as he heard, "You will _stay away _from Kiba!" hissed in a tone so menacing that the blood chilled in his veins. Killer intent radiated away from Biyoku and Kiba found himself unable to move, unable to breathe, even though he wanted to help Naruto. Even though he wanted to save Naruto, the boy who was being hurt just because he had given Kiba shelter.

But his legs quaked and his hands shook and he was choking on fear and saliva, using what little control he still had over his body to try to maintain control of his own bladder. He could only look on even as he watched the blonde writhe in his father's grasp, seeing the man's eyes shining in delight as he squeezed tighter little by little.

The banshee-like scream of Tsume Inuzuka rang through the apartment as she barreled inside, aiming for her brute of a husband.

He tossed a sickening grin her way before whipping his arms back and letting Naruto fly into the wall which he slammed into with a dull thud and simultaneous clear cracking sound, then sliding to the ground and failed to move.

Kiba snapped out of his stupor and bolted towards the prone boy's form. His pressed a shaking hand against Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto?" He pushed against that shoulder

No response.

"Naruto _please_." He gasped, pushing against the blonde's shoulder. "Please, _please_."

Kiba wasn't entirely sure what the 'please' was for. _Please_ wake up? _Please_ be breathing? _Please_ be okay? _Please_ don't die? _Please_ don't be dead _because of_ _me_? Any of them? All of them? All of them and so much more that his young mind could not comprehend?

Not able to process these questions Kiba continued to plead with the boy, pushing at the shoulder, scared to touch him otherwise.

But then a groan.

A strange, gargled sound that seemed to get tripped up in the mangled throat that his father had left on his friend.

Honestly it was a horrifying sound. In any other situation, hearing it would have frightened even the staunchest of men. But right now, Kiba was so grateful to hear any kind of response that meant that his friend _was not dead_, that it didn't matter how horrifying it was because it's mere existence was a good thing.

Naruto rolled over slowly, shoulder winding up in Kiba's lap since the Inuzuka was so close to his friend.

Kiba cried and threw himself over his friend in desperate relief and in doing so, narrowly missed being struck by the object that had been tossed carelessly by his struggling parents.

The potted plant exploded in contact with the wall, the small clay pot shattering into multiple pieces, dirt scattering over the huddle children and the small marigolds that had been within slipping to the floor silently, laying still in the rubble of its former home.

Naruto gurgled again in his throat, one hand clenching tightly at Kiba's shirt.

He looked to the boy and found blue eyes that were totally and frighteningly aware. Kiba could barely fathom what was going on, the sheer insanity of the moment was beyond anything in his experience and his brain could not seem to process it. But Naruto's brain wasn't seeming to have the same problem. He was following everything with keen eyes, seemingly unhindered by the pain.

Naruto used his grip on Kiba's shirt to help pull himself up, his eyes locking on the battle between the elder Inuzukas who just smashed through Naruto's kitchen, shattering the rickety old table where Naruto had made the first offer of sanctuary and sending a chair leg flying to lodge itself deep in the wall just next to the fridge.

Naruto tugged on Kiba's shirt to pull the boy's attention back to him. The blonde jerked a finger at Kiba and followed it up by forming his pointer finger and thumb into a circle with the other three fingers extended.

_You okay?_

Kiba swallowed and nodded with a jerky movement.

A loud crunching noise filled the room as Naruto's bed shattered under the power of a strike from Biyoku that Tsume managed to dodge.

As debris flew through the air, Kiba found himself on his back having been tossed to the ground with Naruto laying on his chest face contorted in another grimace.

Then silence.

Sudden and strange because a part of Kiba had thought that the noise and the confusion as Naruto's home was torn to pieces around them would never end.

"Boys!" A voice gasped.

Standing before the remnants of what had been the only window into Naruto's apartment was the surprisingly imposing form of Shikaku Nara. His shadow extended into the room, trapping the riling forms of the Inuzuka parents. The man gritted his teeth against the amount of chakra required to keep these two in place, sweat beading rapidly on his brow.

"Get out of here!"

Kiba nodded again, feelingly vaguely like he had been replaced by a bobble head on this night, but he could recognize an order when given one. He lurched to his feet, pulling Naruto up with him.

"And Kiba – get Naruto to the hospital. Tell them I will be there shortly to check in with them about him."

Kiba nodded once more, grateful for the authority in the man's voice. He needed someone to tell him what to do right now, because he didn't know how he was supposed to take the brawl that his life had become, so he needed the direction of someone else.

They dashed around the semi-frozen pair to get to the doorway, but it was evident that Biyoku was struggling against the bind to some measure of success given the hiss let out by Shikaku as the boy's passed by Biyoku and the man's arm began to spasm and shake like he was trying to reach out and grab them.

They flew down the stairs and out into the open air and Kiba gasped, pulling the air into his lungs that seemed to finally be opening again after the confrontation.

Turning, he grasped Naruto's hand and begun to tug, pulling the boy towards the hospital.

Kiba was an Inuzuka, and if they knew anything, it was how to follow rank and position. And a superior had just given him an order.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 5

* * *

Naruto knew better than to go to the hospital without an adult. Even if they knew that one was coming, the staff was still going to deny him service or wait until the other man showed up, not believing him because, _"you're just a little liar!"_

No one had seemed to even want to touch him the last time that he had ended up there, instead ordering him out and an enraged Third Hokage had to bring the boy back after he had been wandering the streets with a dangerously high fever edging towards horrendous hallucinations.

So he didn't want to go to the hospital. But he didn't want to disobey the man, who'd looked a bit like his classmate Shikamaru actually, either. The old-Shikamaru had stopped the fighting and helped them out and been strong enough to keep the large man from grabbing them as they fled. But he didn't want the dark man mad at him either.

If there was one thing that Naruto had learned in his life, it was to not get grown ninja truly mad at him. Yes, he pulled pranks, and that might annoy some of them. But he tried to stop short of invoking true anger. He knew that an angry ninja was a terrifying ninja. And he didn't want to face an angry ninja.

They rounded a corner and Naruto stopped up, shoving his heels into the ground and forcing Kiba to stop his relentless march forward.

"Naruto! Come on! Mr. Nara said to go to the hospital!"

Naruto shook his head, wishing he could talk right now to explain. Instead he could only point to a small building on their right.

Kiba looked confused and annoyed. "That's not the hospital." He said plainly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. He pointed at his wrist and then held up two fingers.

Kiba's confusion grew, as did his annoyance, knotting his fingers into his hair tight enough to hurt he shouted, "I don't know what you're saying!"

Naruto looked pained before trying again. This time he lightly drew a circle on his wrist before pointing to it again, this time tapping his finger.

Kiba felt like he was playing charades…and he had never liked charades. "Your wrist?"

Naruto shook his head and pointed again, incessantly tapping his finger.

Kiba pulled hard on his hair. "I dunno!"

Naruto stomped his foot, grimacing momentarily at the uncomfortable jolt it sent through his abused body, and pointed at his wrist again.

Suddenly Kiba remembered the gesture. "A watch?"

Naruto smiled and made some weird spaztic gesture that Kiba just took to mean he was correct. Then he remembered the two fingers. "Two minutes?"

Naruto clapped once and pointed to the building again.

"Two minutes in there?" Kiba bit his lip for a second. "Naruto, you're hurt. You need to get to the hospital!"

Then Naruto looked at him and Kiba felt unsettled. The look in the blonde's eyes was not his normal happy excitement. Nor was it the pain that Naruto had to be feeling. It was some strange cross between fear and confusion and desperation and morbid acceptance that made Kiba's skin crawl for reasons he couldn't name, other than _knowing_ that it was a look that should _never_ appear on a child's face.

"Alright fine. Two minutes. Then we're going!"

Naruto saluted and headed off inside, as fast as his injured and fatigued body would allow. Kiba followed on his heels. He was supposed to get the blonde to the hospital and he would do so. He wasn't going to let Naruto out of his sight.

Naruto went up to the second floor of what seemed to be a small and modest apartment building with only about 4 rooms per floor. Naruto went to the door just off of the staircase and knocked.

There was silence from within and Kiba thought it likely that whoever Naruto wanted to see was sleeping and wasn't going to answer the door.

Kiba leaned back against the wall with a sigh.

But then he heard a light cough and shuffling within and then the light padding of feet. "Who is it?" A voice asked a little gruffly, but then again he had just been woken up in the middle of the night.

Naruto moved to answer except he only made a gagging noise and clutched at his throat in pain, clearly having forgotten that speaking was bad in the 30 seconds it took to reach the door.

Kiba sighed, "It's Kiba and Naruto, Iruka-sensei." He responded instead, having recognized the voice through the door.

The door flew open and the shirtless form of their scarred academy teacher stood in the door way taking in the site of them. It was then that Kiba realized that he was covered in splinters and dirt and dust from the grinding of Naruto's meager furniture.

"What happened?!" Iruka exclaimed in shock, "Naruto you're hurt!" he cried a second later. "Who did this to you?" Their teacher dropped to a knee as his eyes examined the uncomfortable Naruto.

Kiba dropped his gaze to the hallway floor. He was suddenly ashamed. It was his fault. If he hadn't taken advantage of Naruto's own kindness, he never would have been in the apartment. Then his father wouldn't have come and hurt the blonde. Then the blonde would have something to go home to that wasn't a wreck of broken furniture and dead plants.

"Mr. Nara said to take him to the hospital…" Kiba said quietly, unable to look the caring man in the eye for fear he would see the selfishness and blame him for Naruto's injuries. Even if he was right, Kiba didn't want to see that look of disappointment.

"Right." Was all he heard and moments later a shirt had been tossed on, and sandals shoved onto his feet as he picked up Naruto, who frankly was looking exhausted, and held the small body against his chest, Naruto happily resting his head on their teacher's shoulder, while grabbing Kiba's hand with his spare, the group made their way to the hospital to get the blonde checked out. Normally, Kiba wouldn't want any adult holding his hand through town, especially not his teacher! But right now it felt nice to have that warm grip around his own, safe and secure. _Besides_, he rationalized quickly, _no one is really awake right now to see anyway_.

Kiba was confused as to why they had to get their teacher, but Naruto was going to the hospital now so Mr. Nara wasn't going to get mad at him and his friend would see a doctor. It would all be alright now.

So he was surprised when they got to the hospital, the staff saw the rapidly spreading and angry bruise on the blonde's neck, heard Kiba tell them that his friend couldn't talk, heard that Naruto had been thrown into a wall by a grown man, and then they decided to do _absolutely nothing_.

In fact, they seemed to be looking at Kiba in more concern even though the only that that had happened to him was that he had been afraid. There was nothing wrong with him that a good shower couldn't fix.

Nameless nurses tried to tell them to sit in the waiting room and wait for a doctor to be free until Iruka started yelling about something with procedures and Naruto groaned into his neck and a nurse started shouting back about patient safety and Kiba was getting angry and he was more than done with adults yelling around him.

He had been useless all night. He hadn't been able to help Naruto in the apartment. He hadn't even been able to get Naruto to the hospital, because Iruka-sensei had gotten them there really, and now his friend was being denied service at the only hospital in town.

Kiba was growling, his fists clenching and his naturally sharp nails drawing blood as they broke through the skin. But the adults were ignoring him, much as they were Naruto and he was just _fucking done_. He stalked over to one of the stupid plastic chairs that stood along the wall in the waiting room, drew his leg back and kicked the first one as hard as he could. The whole row of chairs went scattering as they slammed into each other like dominos, each passing on their considerable kinetic energy into the next.

Iruka stared in surprise at his student, not so much at the aggressive action but at the controlled simmer of what seemed to be considerable rage for someone so young. The boy was practically vibrating as though his body was not able to contain the fury that was coursing through it.

Then Kiba did something he had never done before. He called upon Konoha's tendency to cater to the whims of the ninja clans who protect them from harm and bring prosperity to their village. He would _shame_ them into doing their FUCKING JOB and seeing to his friend.

"He got hurt protecting the son of the Inuzuka clan head." He growled out. "That makes him _pack_. I wonder how the clan would react to the hospital refusing to treat one of the pack?" It was said idly, but the threat was clear. The Inuzukas on the whole were overly aggressive ninja who did their job affectively, but frequently got hurt in the process. The hospital made a considerable amount of money caring for the members of that clan. Not to mention, the second you ostracize one clan, the others would take offense, especially the Aburame and Hyuuga clans who were frequently teamed with Inuzukas due to how well their abilities lent to tracking and that meant funding cuts given how much money was donated to the hospital every year from the Hyuuga clan…

The intake nurse blanched as the implications began to snowball in her mind. Kiba took no notice of the proud look that Iruka granted him, as he focused an almost feral grin on the woman who had begun to quake.

She finally ushered Iruka and the still form of Naruto down the hall and into a room where reluctant staff began to check the boy's injuries. Kiba remained in the hallway outside, while Iruka hovered within. He suddenly felt exhausted, and his legs like noodles. He slid down the wall into a weird crouch that would have left him flat on his ass if he hadn't had the wall to balance against. He hugged his legs in close to his body and rested his forehead on his knees and hiccoughed softly as he tried to swallow the sobs that now threatened to break forth.

A warm arm wrapped around his shoulder and his nose caught the scent of deer, wet earth and deep forests.

"Mr. Nara…?" Kiba began. He wanted to say something, but he had no idea what he wanted to say, or _should_ even say.

"It's okay Kiba." The man's gravelly voice said slowly. "It's not your fault."

And the dam broke. Kiba's hiccoughs turned into full on sobs. Tears streamed freely and a sound approaching wailing began to flow from his mouth. Everything that had been held back for weeks, the reasons he sought out shelter with Naruto in the first place, the reasons he kept running there, and this terrible, horrific night, it was all finally finding release in this moment, in that stark white hallway of the Konoha hospital.

Shikaku sighed and muttered under his breath, though Kiba's keen ears picked up "Troublesome." He snorted at the phrase more common than breathing for the shadow clan, but quickly fell back into his anguish.

Kiba didn't react as he was picked up and huddled into the lap of his classmate's father other than to turn into the man's chest as arms closed around him seeking comfort of the kind of tactile nature practically never seen in the gruff, get-back-up, shake-it-off, what-are-you-a-_baby_-? parenting style of the Inuzuka clan.

A hand ruffled through his hair as sob after wrenching sob tore out of his small body. "It's not your fault." Shikaku repeated again.

Kiba keened softly, clenching his fingers into the mesh of the Nara's shirt.

He wished that he could believe that.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 6

* * *

Shikaku was still sitting on the ground, the sleeping form of Kiba Inuzuka still curled up in his lap, even over an hour later. He ignored the tingling in his feet as they slipped between sleeping and waking from the pressure of the child pushing his legs down into his heels. The boy's grip remained tight, even in slumber, and Shikaku couldn't help but feel for the child. He'd had a rather hard night and the whole debacle wasn't even over yet.

A pair of nurses exited the room, muttering darkly, their eyes catching on the pair.

One scoffed and jerked his head to look away. Setting his jaw he said, "First Academy teachers and now the clans. He turned fierce eyes on Shikaku, "I thought you Naras were supposed to be smart."

Shikaku met his gaze steadily and ground out, "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"The f-!"

The man was cut off as Shikaku's shadow froze him in place, locking his jaw so that he could not continue. The Nara darted his eyes down to Kiba importantly before returning them to the nurses.

The message was clear: _Be careful what you say. Not everyone here knows the secret._

If anything the man's face became even more contorted in anger. "That _thing_ is a murderer…!"

"He's a little boy!" Shikaku hissed in response. _How badly have we let you down Naruto?_ "He's no different from this boy here!" He pointed out indicating Kiba who was starting to stir, even combined emotional and physical exhaustion not being enough to keep him asleep though this man's tirade.

As the nurse opened his mouth again, Shikaku scoffed in distain, "I wonder if the latest shipment of medical supplies for the hospital has left my clan's storehouse yet…?"

The unspoken threat hung in the air, but his point had been made.

Without another word, the man stomped off down the hallway and Shikaku sighed heavily. He would never make good on that threat, not with the amount of people that would be harmed by the shortage of medicines, but the nurse didn't know that.

Sudden awkward shifting in his lap, alerted him to Kiba's re-acquaintance with consciousness.

The Inuzuka scrambled out of the scarred man's lap as he looked on in tired bemusement.

Kiba had settled on his knees next to the jounin and clenched his hands into his pajama bottoms. "Is Naruto okay?" The boy's eyes looked up so earnestly into Shikaku's that he almost had to look away.

He was rescued in the form of an exhausted Academy Instructor.

"He's sleeping Kiba." Iruka smiled at the boy as his head shot quickly to take in the man. "He's alright. You can go see him if you want, but let him sleep."

The Inuzuka was up and in the room before Iruka had even finished speaking and the screech of a chair against the linoleum floor alerted Shikaku to the boy's current location without even having to look.

Shikaku sighed and pushed himself up to a standing position as Iruka settled himself against the wall with a tired huff.

"Can I ask how you got involved in this mini-nightmare of a night?" Shikaku grumbled while rubbing his face harshly as he tried to bring some more wakefulness into his body. "I'll need it for my report." He added rather offhandedly, but it was true nonetheless.

"Naruto knows not to go to the hospital without an adult." A grim expression settled on the normally positive teacher's face. "They won't see him or they'll send him away. And then whoever does come with literally has to be _there_ the whole time, looking over their shoulders so they give proper care, they'll just stand around in the room and then come out a while later saying that they had done what they could." Iruka sighed and rubbed mindlessly at his forehead.

The explanation was succinct and it was apparent that this wasn't the first time that Naruto had sought out the kindly Iruka to ensure basic medical service. _Or maybe_, he wondered momentarily, _he had just sought the teacher out who then forced them to go to the hospital. Either way, Iruka is too bitter about it to have not been slapped in the face with the shock of it all at least once before, and probably many times. _

Shikaku closed his eyed and heaved yet another sigh. The Nara mind, forever making connections between his current experience and past experiences was once again recalling that Kiba was the same age as Shikamaru. _And so was Naruto_. He felt a clenching around his heart at the thought of that being _his_ boy in there instead of Naruto. What if Kiba had been taking shelter with _them_ instead of the blonde? Shikaku was under no illusions. If he hadn't been able to surprise Biyoku he might not have been able to stop him without further assistance taking the man's sheer rage into account.

"Are you able to tell me what happened?" Iruka interrupted his musings, the eyes gazing at Shikaku filled not just with well fought off sleep, but a complicated swirling mix of worry, fear, exasperation, anger, and a host of other things.

Shikaku sighed. "All is not well in the Inuzuka household. Naruto gave Kiba a place to escape from it. Biyoku found out and…" Shikaku gestured widely in the general direction of Naruto's hospital room. "This happened…" he ended lamely.

He reached back and tugged on his tied hair, a gesture indicating frustration from those who knew him well enough, though it meant nothing to the teacher before him, in order to help himself focus.

_Note to self: have a conversation with Shikamaru about sensitive information and how to go about relaying it…particularly in emotionally charged situations._

Shikamaru had never encountered Biyoku, most children didn't as by unspoken agreement of the clan parents they steered their kids clear of the man on the off chance he was in the village, though he was usually on border patrol missions (just _whispers_ that the man was on the border was enough of a deterrent sometimes). And it wasn't like Shikaku walked around the house talking about other ninja of the village. As much as he was able, the shadow clan head liked to try and keep work and home separate. A lot of what he saw was classified anyway so the old practice had come in handy as he had progressed in rank during his career.

When it came down to it though, Biyoku was an unknown variable to Shikamaru, his only knowledge of the man being that he was Kiba's father, an Inuzuka and a ninja of the village. Operating on that information, Shikamaru's logical mind had probably decided that it was safe to share any information with family and ninjas.

By all rights it _should_ have been.

But if the boy had been paying attention to the current situation on hand he would have known that there was something that he was missing. Maybe he would have pulled his father aside and told him privately. Maybe…

But that was pointless now.

Maybe he should play more Shougi with the boy…that would help with critical thinking skills and situational analysis. Besides it's a game that one can play and barely have to move – just their kind of activity really. That should be right up Shikamaru's alley.

Shaking the thought out of his head, Shikaku finally hauled himself up off of the floor and clapped his hand onto Iruka's shoulder. "Thanks for getting them here, but I've got it now. Go home and get some rest, I'll send you an update tomorrow."

Iruka smiled in thanks before trudging down the hall, undoubtedly dreading the morning and a room full of screaming eight-year-olds on scarcely any sleep…though without Naruto and Kiba there it should be much quieter he would think.

He slipped into the room and observed the result of this night. Two exhausted boys, one sleeping beneath the sheets of his hospital bed, the other, head pillowed on crossed arms balanced on the edge of the bed, slumped half off of his chair.

He sighed yet again and muttered about something being more trouble than it was worth before grabbing a spare blanket out of the cupboard against the wall and settling it around Kiba's shoulders.

It was going to be a bad couple of days for these boys he thought idly before settling against the wall to keep vigil until morning.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 7

* * *

Shikamaru had known the second that the words left his mouth that he should have kept quiet. He should have kept to his usual pattern around adults and just ignored them all and gone back to sleep.

But no – he'd screwed up.

Kiba's dad had tensed and that _same look_ that Shikamaru saw on shopkeepers faces after they had chased Naruto out of their places slipped over the hulking man, but as muscles flexed and split flew from the man's mouth as he _hissed_ in response, Shikamaru knew that it was a bad idea for him to be directed towards anyone just now. Let alone Naruto who already had a lot to put up with every day.

In short: He'd screwed up big.

And when he heard Kiba's mother shout about _not hurting_ Naruto he knew he'd done something worse than just a screw up. This wasn't something that would end with a lecture from his dad or extra homework from Iruka-sensei or a new round of chores from his mother. This was something far worse – someone else was going to be hurt because of what Shikamaru had said. It was almost like he had cocked back an arrow and his words had let the deadly weapon fly, one that he had aimed directly towards Naruto who would have no warning that anything was even coming.

As his father darted off into the night after the pair, and his mother wrapped her arms around Kiba's sister and guided her inside, Shikamaru felt like curling up under their porch and hiding away from the world. Instead, he chose to sit on the steps and keep watch, hoping that his father would sort out the mess that _he_ had made. His father was a strong jounin, he could do it.

* * *

When Yoshino had offered to take them to see Kiba and Naruto the next morning, Hana had reached out and grabbed Shikamaru's hand before they left the Nara house. Normally, Shikamaru would have pulled away, declaring girls troublesome or insisting that he was too grown to need to be holding someone's hand on a walk into town. And if anyone asked, he would insist that these phrases had been muttered under his breath and that he hadn't pulled away out of politeness to Hana who was a guest to the clan.

But reality was different.

In reality, he clenched her hand back just as tightly as she held his, desperately seeking the reassurance that someone else was just as scared as he was, and it was someone older, due to become a ninja herself this next graduation cycle. He was tired and confused and guilt-ridden. He wanted to find out what had happened and he didn't. He knew whatever he was about to see was his fault and he would have to live with that. The problem was that he didn't know if he could…

He was going to have to face both boys at school day after day. He would have to walk past the Inuzuka Clan compound whenever he wanted to go to his own home, or from home to the village. He was going to be reminded every day that he was an idiot who couldn't keep his mouth shut. What kind of _ninja_ was he to give away vital information without a thought and lead directly to his comrades getting attacked and being hurt? And he was the son of a clan head – _he should know better!_

Shikamaru had sat on that porch for hours, staunchly resisting his mother's attempts to bully him into bed. He needed to wait for his father, he needed to see him come back, Kiba at his side, telling him that everything was alright and it all had been a big misunderstanding. Even better, a bouncy Naruto at his side screaming something about ramen. That's what he wanted to hear but he knew that that was just wishful thinking. There would be no point in trying to sleep tonight anyway, for once in the young boy's life, he know sleep would not be coming to him, and should it visit him, it would not be anything that he would wish to experience.

Instead he got a messenger, just as the sun was rising, saying that his father was remaining at the hospital with "the kids."

Shikamaru didn't breath for a moment. _Hospital?_ Someone got hurt…someone got hurt and it was _his fault_! What the hell was he supposed to do to fix _that_…? How could he ever hope to _start_?

And so he held tight to Hana's hand as they followed his mother through the streets of Konoha, the few people out this early in the morning, paying no mind to the small group likely as they were only just waking up themselves and not aware of the world around them. It seemed wrong that everything could look so normal to his eyes when it felt like his world had spun completely out of control. But there was the reality of it in his face as a man came out in his robe to pick up the morning paper with a yawn.

He vaguely noted the thinning of the lips of the woman who had smiled in greeting to his mother before she explained why they were there. Another one of those _Naruto _things that no one would explain to him and as frayed as his nerves were that made him very angry right now, so he kicked the small desk and glared at the nurse as the left, after she finally confessed the room number to them.

"Shikamaru!" His mother scolded him, but he didn't care, instead just scowling as Hana squeezed his hand and they moved down the hallway.

They hadn't reached the room yet when a brown-haired streak came flying out and slammed into Hana who thankfully released Shikamaru's hand before he joined the pile of limbs on the ground, likely having used the Inuzuka nose to smell the familiar scent from within the room.

Kiba was clutching at his sister like he hadn't seen her in years, sniffling softly but otherwise remaining quiet.

Hana was openly crying and she curled up around Kiba. "You're okay." She whispered, whether she was trying to convey that message to herself or make a promise to her brother was unsure, though maybe it was a little bit of both.

Shikamaru left the siblings as his mother tried to encourage them to get up off of the floor. He peered slowly around the doorjamb and first saw the dark form of his father sitting against the window ledge his shadow cast over the bed next to him.

Naruto lay in the bed, not looking as bad as the boy had feared. There were a couple of bandages around his arms and slapped against the back of one hand, but the boy's neck was the queasy blue/purple/red/yellow/green color of a bruise that was on its way to fading.

A bruise in the distinct shape of an adult hand. A large adult hand. Like Biyoku's. Like Biyoku who had been put onto Naruto's sent because Shikamaru had a loose tongue.

Shikamaru's stomach roiled and he was glad that he hadn't eaten anything for breakfast this morning because it would have ended up on the floor. As it was he found himself compulsively swallowing as saliva flooded his mouth in response to the heaving his stomach was attempting.

"Come here son…" Shikaku spoke softly, and Shikamaru withheld no speed as he darted towards the man's form and threw his arms around the man as though he was a toddler once more. He didn't normally act like this – but then this wasn't a normal situation and he found himself desperately needing to just _be_ with his father and _see_ his father because parents figure out how to make it all _right_ again.

"I'm sorry!" He gasped into his father's side as the man put one arm around his shoulder.

"It's not your fault." Shikaku replied with a heavy sigh. "It would have been found out eventually anyway…"

"I shouldn't have said anything…he didn't know about Naruto…" Shikamaru whispered, shaking his head into the man's side, even as the protective mesh scrapped against the skin of his own forehead.

Shikaku was silent and Shikamaru knew that the man agreed. "You didn't help matters." The ninja finally said.

The boy's chest felt heavy as he turned enough to see Naruto, still sleeping in the bed, though not loosening his grip or leaving his father's side. The bruising looked even worse from here because Shikamaru was able to see just how pale Naruto was. Naruto was the boy with the perpetual tan because no one ever told him to put on sunscreen and he spent most of his time outdoors. Naruto would run around at the beginning of summer with one or two good sunburns before his tan deepened to an almost gold that would hang on well through winter.

But now it was as pale as the fair Nara, settled in amongst the white sheets which combined with the form's inaction make Shikamaru queasy. There was such a strong sense of _wrongness_ with what his eyes were seeing that he couldn't bring himself to keep looking.

"What exactly happened?" He whispered before turning under his dad's arm and looking out the window as a curiously clear sky, empty of any of the clouds that he loved so to watch.

"Can't say anything until the investigation is done…haven't even got to talk to Naruto yet."

Shikamaru elbowed his dad in the hip, but didn't say anything. Instead he rested his hands on his arms as they sat crossed on the window sill. He saw his dad's point – Biyoku was bound to find out eventually - but still…if he had just kept his stupid mouth shut then he wouldn't have found out when he did and it wouldn't be all Shikamaru's fault.

If he hadn't said anything, no one would have known where to find Kiba. They had already been looking, a family of trackers, so clearly Kiba had hidden his traces well enough to go without being found, knowing exactly what to work around for tracking purposes. And Naruto's neighborhood was the kind where people made a point of not keeping track of their neighbors' comings and goings, at least should anyone go asking about them, which almost no one did. If he'd had just kept his stupid mouth shut, the boys would have woken up in the morning and gone to school like it was any of the other nights that they had done this same routine, even if Kiba had gotten in trouble once he showed up for running off. It wouldn't have been the same as what happened tonight if he had just shut up.

But no. He had blabbed. He'd blabbed to his father but still…he had done it. And Kiba's dad had gone on a rampage and now Naruto was lying in a hospital bed and it all just rounded directly back to it being _his freaking fault_.

He was supposed to be the smart one. That's what Nara's did. They out-_thought_ their enemies.

It would occur to Shikamaru years later that that was the first time in his life that he had ever had a face to associate with the idea of an enemy. Kiba's father had become _'the enemy'_ and would be what all future foes were ranked against at least in the recesses of his subconscious.

In the present however, he found himself swamped with the almost overwhelming urge to strike something, throw something, anything just to get this…_thing_…this creature that felt like it was taking up residence inside of his chest…out. His arms were tense and his hands clenched tight until his knuckles matched Naruto's sheets. There was just so much _something_ within him that it felt like his skin was crawling and he hated this feeling. Then just like he had at the nurses station, Shikamaru swung back his leg and kicked the wall, not even flinching when the pain roared through his toes as his nerves were set alight because that was a feeling that he understood. With his world having heaved so much already in so short a time, he needed something that he could hold onto and understand.

So he swung back again.

And again.

And again.

At some point he shifted so that his hands were clenching the sill, using the structure as leverage as he heaved and pounded his feet against the wall, jarring his body again and again and again.

He heard his mother order him to stop, his father tell him he was being foolish, Kiba's cry what he was doing and still he continued on.

He didn't notice when the tears had started to slip from his eyes. He didn't notice when the grunts slipped into gasps and sobs. He didn't notice when everything else got quiet around him. He focused only the shaking of his limbs, the jolts of feeling, the fried edge of his nerves.

So he missed it when a bandaged arm wrapped around his chest. And he almost kicked Kiba in the face when the boy got between Shikamaru and his target.

But there they were, three boys confused and afloat and desperate, clinging to each other in the middle of hospital room on an otherwise normal morning in Konoha. Kiba Inuzuka had wrapped himself around the legs of Shikamaru Nara, while Naruto Uzumaki had come at the boy from the side, wrapping his arms around him in a hug while trying to pull him away from the window. As Shikamaru continued to make guttural noises through his clenched teeth, the boys held on and Shikaku gently pried his son's fingers from the now broken and split piece of wood that had been the nicely trimmed window sill of Konoha's hospital.

They sunk into a heap on the floor, Shikamaru sobbing, Kiba patting the child awkwardly on the back and Naruto clinging still to the Nara's middle, trying to figure out why Shikamaru kept insisting that he was sorry.

Shikamaru wept and clung to the people that he had hurt in his own moment of stupidity. They didn't even know that they were offering comfort to the one who had caused their pain. But he was desperate and he took it. Slipping against Naruto when his exhausted mind finally slipped away.

Shikamaru Nara was asleep.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 8

* * *

Whispers have been flying around Konoha lately. The rumor mill was operating at full tilt as the markets bustled with activity above normal for the middle of the week as news traveled about the goings on in the Inuzuka clan, the involvement of the Nara clan, and _that boy_.

The civilians always loved to gossip about anything involving the ninja clans. Ninjas were part of a higher echelon in the village hierarchy, and the clans were higher still within that. And as ninjas they keep a lot of secrets by nature. Of course the rest of the villagers would be curious about them and talk about them.

And this was a _scandal_. Oh boy was it. Scandals involving the ninja clans were gold to the villagers. Especially to the owners of civilian coffee shops and bars were people would gather to discuss the latest gossip. Rounds were ordered and tabs enlarged as rumors were exchanged and debated and embellished as they passed around from lips to ears.

And if it was a clan scandal that you were looking for - the Inuzuka clan was usually the one to provide one for you. They were the ninja clan with the mercenary temperament. Everything they did was loud, in your face and a show of dominance over someone else taken to a more extreme end than others would tend to go. They were the type to throw fists first before thinking things through and it showed in the amount of times their name made it into discussions of mothers keeping half an eye on their children on the playground or the elderly of the village as they played shuffleboard and declared that in their day no ninja clan would have dared behave in such a manor, the Hokage would have done something about it…when in reality the Inuzukas had calmed over the generations and the First and Second Hokages would have looked on the typical goings on of the current iteration of the clan as amusing in comparison to what they had to address on a regular basis. Though not in regards to the current focus of the loose lips of the non-ninja of the ninja village, this would have been far more typical for them.

Being the scandal ridden clan, it was surprising that the village was not just used to them by now though. Every time something happened, the people still found entertainment in it. And they would call on the history of past indiscretions in comparison to the current folly and inevitably the general consensus came around to the Inuzuka clan being nothing more than a bunch of "ruffians with a good name."

That it was the head family of that clan that was caught up in the current drama made it even juicier and the stories grew ever wilder.

Especially when you factored in _that boy_.

Because _he_ was certainly the cause of everything. He had somehow tricked or brainwashed the young Inuzuka boy, stealing him away from his family's home multiple nights a week. And his control of the boy was growing as the nights were becoming more and more frequent according to the rumors floating about. _He_ must have some dastardly plan to take over the clans of Konoha through their children. Yes! That _must_ be it!

It must be that _that kid_ was determined to round up the next generation of their village and turn them into his puppets. To pull in the clans of the village, the strength and backbone of Konoha, and spread his horrifying indoctrination to his twisted mind until there is nothing left to stand in his way!

But they wouldn't stand for it! They wouldn't let their children fall victim to _his_ insidious scheme. Because even though they had been told that they could not tell their children about the threat that ran about their streets every day, they could warn them away. Tell them that he was a _bad_ child, tell them not to play with him or talk to him or even look at him. And as they tucked their children into bed at night they would tell them the tales of the trickster kitsune spirits who could take the form of humans in order to lure them away and devour them and fables of wolves in sheep's skin so that they would know that horrific evil could hide under the guise of innocence and harmlessness.

Because no matter the looks on that child's face they _knew_. Everyone _knew_. They knew that there was no innocent child there. Oh no, only a demon biding his time, waiting for everyone to let down their guards, for the day that its trickster methods work and people start to consider it human. One day the boy would strike. He would toss of the innocent guise of the hopeless child and wreak havoc throughout town, killing, destroying, tearing down and banishing and all the while relishing in it, bathing in the blood of the innocents that would be spilled. And once more their homes would be burned or smashed to the ground. Once more their loved ones would be lost. Once more they would find themselves standing in the rubble wondering how one goes on after something like this happens.

But they wouldn't let that happen – oh no. Not again. They would keep their eagle eyes on _the boy_ and wait for the clues to surface, the hints of the malice beneath to surface, so they would know when it was time to grab their loved ones and run as far as their legs would carry them.

And the town set about constructing and deconstructing the version of events until they fit into their world view, until the stories that were passed around didn't jar and clang against their own biases and prejudices of what they _knew_ to be true.

Because the story that had circulated in those first few hours _couldn't_ have been right. It just couldn't have been.

Because there was no way that the real trouble in the Inuzuka clan was just a marriage disintegrating under the weight its own problems, the increasing fights frightening the youngest member enough to run off into the night for a chance at peace and quiet.

Because there was no way that _that boy_ had just happened to run into the young Inuzuka on the street and invite him inside and away from the growing chill of changing seasons.

No way that _that boy_ fed the Inuzuka despite the tight budget he lived on and the limited food available to him.

No way that _that boy_ scrounged together money to buy the clan child a futon to use when it became obvious that these visits would be frequent.

No way that _that boy_ had been helpless, even against the might of Biyoku Inuzuka, and taken great injury when the hulking man had attacked.

No way that _that boy_ had taken further wounds shielding the clan child.

There was no way.

None.

It didn't make any sense.

So the followed in the stead of ninjas and looked underneath the underneath. They read between the lines and found the truth of the situation.

And they made sure that everyone knew about it.

* * *

Konohagakure Official Report

**Classification: **TOP SECRET – Hokage and Jounin Tribunal Council ONLY

**Submitting Ninja:** Shikaku Nara, Jounin

**Domestic/International Incident:** Domestic

**If International, type and location of incident:** N/A

**If Domestic, type and action taken:** Public and Private Disputes involving active ninja, Multiple Charges laid

**If Domestic, specify any charges laid:**

Against one Biyoku Inuzuka:

Civilian Charges - Domestic Disturbance, Destruction of Property, Breaking and Entering, Home Invasion, Assault and Battery, Assault of a Minor, Endangering a minor (2 counts), Disorderly Conduct, Disturbing the Peace, Resisting Arrest

Military Charges - Conduct Unbecoming, Violation of Previous Demerit Sentencing, Failure to Follow Orders of a Superior Officer, Unauthorized Use of Battle Ninjutsu in a Civilian Area, Attempted Sabotage of Military Weapon (Code: Legacy)

Against one Tsume Inuzuka:

Civilian Charges – Domestic Disturbance, Destruction of Property, Breaking and Entering,  
Home Invasion, Endangering a minor (2 counts), Disorderly Conduct, Disturbing the Peace

Military Charges – Conduct Unbecoming, Unauthorized Use of Battle Ninjutsu in a Civilian Area

**Incident Details:**

At approximately 11:30PM I was woken from sleep by calls outside my home from Hana Inuzuka (Academy Student) looking for her brother, Kiba Inuzuka (Academy Student), who seemed to have slipped from the house during the course of a domestic quarrel between his parents, Biyoku and Tsume Inuzuka (both Special Jounin Rank).

When he could not be located via tracking methods, the family began a fanned out search, including visiting Kiba Inuzuka's classmates, eventually leading them to one, Naruto Uzumaki (Academy Student, Code: Legacy) who was sheltering Kiba Inuzuka in his apartment.

Biyoku Inuzuka invaded the property without permission and assaulted Naruto Uzumaki before proceeding to battle his wife, Tsume Inuzuka who had followed him to the scene inside of the apartment. By her own admission, Tsume Inuzuka used clan techniques within the apartment to cancel out the techniques initiated by Biyoku Inuzuka in order to protect the children.

I arrived a few minutes later and used Shadow Manipulation to capture the ninja before ordering the boys to go to the hospital to see to Naruto Uzumaki's injuries. A large, hand-shaped bruise was already apparent on his neck and the child was having difficulty speaking. The state of the apartment was uninhabitable.

After the children were out of the apartment I ordered the pair to stand down as a superior ranked officer. Tsume Inuzuka capitulated immediately and inquired after the children. Biyoku Inuzuka refused and struggled within the technique to break free. I used Shadow Strangulation to cut off enough oxygen to render the man unconscious, by which time ANBU had arrived on scene and took the two into custody.

I proceeded to the hospital were Naruto Uzumaki was being cared after under the direction of Iruka Umino (Chuunin – Academy Instructor, see supplementary report for actions recommended for Hospital Staff). Naruto Uzumaki suffered severe bruising, swelling and inflammation of the throat as well as superficial injuries pertaining to flying debris during the fight in the apartment on one hand, his arms and upper back.

**Need for Immediate Further Actions:**

Temporarily relocate Hana and Kiba Inuzuka.

Temporarily relocate Naruto Uzumaki.

Reconstruction of Naruto Uzumaki's apartment, or procurement of new residence.

Coverage of Naruto Uzumaki's hospital fees.

Due to the sensitive nature of one of the parties involved, issue should be handled by the military council or Hokage, including the civilian charges.

**If Required, Recommendation for Final Actions (please remember recommendations will be consulted at the discretion of the Disciplinary Party):**

This Jounin's personal recommendation for sentencing of one Tsume Inuzuka, Special Jounin is as follows:

For the Civilian Crimes carrying sentences of Destruction of Property, Breaking and Entering, Home Invasion, and Endangering a Minor (2 counts), the recommended course of action is the minimum sentence for all charges should any need to be applied. Her actions were taken in attempted defense of two minors, including her own child.

For the Military Crimes carrying sentences of Conduct Unbecoming and Use of Battle Ninjutsu in a Civilian Area, the recommended course of action is suspension of sentence with a note in her Record. Her actions were taken in attempted defense of two minors and resulted in no significant injury.

*Personal Request of Reporting Ninja: If necessary to have time served, to do so in civilian prison. She is not a flight risk and will serve her time respectfully. There is no need to force the indignity of chakra restraints on a faithful ninja who acted to save her son and his friend.

This Jounin's personal recommendation for sentencing of one Biyoku Inuzuka, Special Jounin is as follows:

For the Civilian Crimes carrying sentences of Destruction of Property, Breaking and Entering, Home Invasion, Assault and Battery, Assault of a Minor, Endangering a Minor (2 counts), and Resisting Arrest, the recommended course of action is the maximum sentence for all charges. He set out with deliberate intent to harm Naruto Uzumaki, a child.

For the Military Crimes carrying sentences of Conduct Unbecoming, Violation of Previous Demerit Sentencing, Failure to Follow Orders of a Superior Officer, Unauthorized Use of Battle Ninjutsu in a Civilian Area, and Attempted Sabotage of Military Weapon (Code: Legacy), the recommended course of action is the maximum sentence for all charges, including the recommendation of Dishonorable Discharge from the Ninja Corps of Konohagakure. Biyoku Inuzuka has a history of violence and problems with authority on Record and it is clear that no action taken as of yet has had any demonstrable affect. In his act this time, he risked the safety and stability of Code: Legacy, our top military weapon.

*Personal Note of Reporting Ninja: It is time to cut our losses and stop tarnishing the name and respect of the ninja of our village with the likes of Biyoku Inuzuka.

_**Do Not Write Beyond This Point, For Office Use Only:**_

Immediate Actions Taken:

Hana and Kiba Inuzuka temporarily relocated to house of Nara Clan Head at the request of both Yoshino Nara (Retired Chuunin, front line medic) and Shikaku Nara (Reporting Jounin).

Naruto Uzumaki temporarily relocated to house of Nara Clan Head at the request of both Yoshino Nara and Shikaku Nara.

The Supporting Structure of Naruto Uzumaki's apartment found secure. Reconstruction and Restoration to be completed as D-Rank missions, paid for out of Military Discretionary Funds.

The hospital fees of Naruto Uzumaki in regards to this incident, paid for out of Military Discretionary Funds.

Punishment for crimes of both sectors to be overseen and handed down by a Military Council.

* * *

Addendum: Sentencing Report

Records taken by Chuunin Hikai Hyuuga.

Sentencing overseen by Jounin Council and Lord Third Hokage.

Sentencing of one Tsume Inuzuka, Special Jounin:

Lord Third Hokage: "In light of the extenuating circumstances of the incident, no permanent action shall be taken in regards to your ninja record."

Tsume Inuzuka: "Thank you Lord Third."

Lord Third Hokage: "Take it as a warning however, for allowing the personal issues of your home to spill out into the streets."

Tsume Inuzuka: "I understand, sir."

Councilman Shibi Aburame: "In regards to the Civilian Charges, the reporting Jounin's recommendations seem sound. Minimum sentences shall be applied and commuted except for the charge of Endangering Minors. For that minimum sentencing is to be applied. Temporary guardianship of your children Hana and Kiba Inuzuka shall be awarded to Shikaku and Yoshino Nara where they are currently staying. Do you understand?"

Tsume Inuzuka: "I understand, sir."

Councilman Shibi Aburame: "You still retain parental rights over your children, but for the duration of one to two months, in lieu of a jail term you are ordered to attend counselling with Haein Yamanaka in order to sort out your own situation without the children being overly affected before they are to return to your custody. The final decision on when belongs to Haein Yamanaka. Do you understand?"

Tsume Inuzuka: "Yes, sir. Thank you Lord Hokage and Councilmembers. This will not happen again. One question, sirs."

Councilwoman Koharu Utatane: "You may ask."

Tsume Inuzuka: "What has happened to Naruto?"

Lord Third Hokage: "He will be staying with the Naras like your children until his own home has been repaired."

Tsume Inuzuka: "I would like to help with that if I may sir. It is partially my fault that it was destroyed."

Lord Third Hokage: "That would be fine. You can join with some of the Genin teams, though you shall not be paid."

Tsume Inuzuka: "I would not ask for any pay. Thank you sir, again, for your generosity in my case."

_End Hearing_

Sentencing of one Biyoku Inuzuka, Special Jounin:

Councilman Shibi Aburame: "We shall begin with the Civilian charges. The council agrees with the reporting Jounin that you set out with deliberate intent to bring harm to Naruto Uzumaki, who is not only a minor child, but a ward of the state and a military asset. You invaded his home, caused physical injury to his person and destroyed his property. At the same time you risked the life of your own child. Do you dispute these facts?"

ANBU Representative "Dog": "Let the Record show that the accused has spat on the floor in response to the Councilman's question."

Councilman Shibi Aburame: "The council agrees with reporting Jounin's recommendations for maximum sentences to all charges. For the civilian charges, Biyoku Inuzuka shall serve 15 years in prison. Do you understand?"

Councilman Hiashi Hyuuga: "Let the record show that the accused attempted to lunge at the councilman despite the warding seals."

Lord Third Hokage: "Yes, I bet that quite hurt. Let the record also show that the accused is growling at the assembled Council rather than respond verbally."

Biyoku Inuzuka: "What would you have me say? It's clear that I'm gonna get thrown under the cart for your little pet."

Councilwoman Koharu Utatane: "How dare you imply that this council would not seek fair judgment!"

Biyoku Inuzuka: "Shut up you old bitch. We all know what's going to happen here."

Lord Third Hokage: "You will address this Council with respect. Not only are they your superior officers but your actions here will reflect on your good behavior and privileges while incarcerated."

ANBU Representative "Dog": "Let the record show that the accused has flipped off Lord Third."

Lord Third Hokage: "In regards to the military charges, they are most severe and in light of your previous issues and reprimands it is my ruling that you shall be stripped of your title as a ninja and discharged from the corps, forbidden from ever again utilizing ninjutsu as a weapon. You shall wear permanent chakra dampening seals and be placed in maximum security prison. For what amounts to treason in acting against your superiors and threatening Code: Legacy, you will serve the rest of your life behind bars."

Biyoku Inuzuka: "I knew it. Sacrifice a ninja who fucking does something for your little demon brat!"

Lord Third Hokage: "You are not the sort of ninja that I want as a part of my village. You have committed your crimes and now you will pay for them."

Biyoku Inuzuka: "I'll get out. I'll get out and I'll be coming straight for that little monster. Then it'll be you old man. You are dead, you're body just doesn't know it yet."

Lord Third Hokage: "As old as I am, my body has been aware of death's proximity for quite a long time. Take him away."

Biyoku Inuzuka: "You'll pay for this!"

Lord Third Hokage: "I wish they would get more creative. That's not even the first time I've heard that this morning."

_End Hearing_


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 9

* * *

Shikaku stood in the doorway of the room that Naruto and Kiba were sharing in his home.

He had done this when Shikamaru was a baby, feeling an incessant need to watch over the child, as though something horrible was going to happen the second that he looked away. Shikamaru had been this tiny little baby and he had been brought into the world where so many bad things can and did happen fairly regularly. For all his genius, he had stared at that little boy and found himself baffled as to how he was supposed to keep him safe when the possibilities that something horrific could happen to him were endless. And Shikaku knew that he wouldn't be able to survive if something happened to his son, the little boy who had captured his heart while the child's tiny little fingers had clenched around Shikaku's pinkie as he held the boy in his arms for the first time.

That sudden attachment and determination to protect something so helpless was as terrifying as it was exhilarating. He had obsessed over the boy's safety, a part of his mind constantly running over different possible scenarios, no matter how outlandish until Yoshino banged him over the head with a soapy frying pan one morning as he related yet another one to her before demanding that he join her back in reality and attend more pressing matters – like the fact that their son clearly needed a diaper change. His obsession had receded slightly after that, but he still kept an extra close eye on his son as he had grown.

And now, he did the same for these two new boys, curled up on pallets on the floor since they didn't have quite enough bedding just yet to handle the new children running their halls. His introduction into these children's lives was just the sort of terror that he had feared his son would endure, and _he had_ though only by proxy.

Kiba had curled and twisted and flailed about in his sleep, seemingly attempting to occupy as much space as possible. The blanket had been completely tossed to the side and he was now perpendicular to the mat, face mashed into the floor, mouth open and gaping into the night.

Shikaku watched quietly as Kiba shifted fully onto his stomach, his legs inelegantly flopping about and landing on Naruto's mid-section. It was enough to awaken the small blonde whose blue eyes swam in confusion for a moment before focusing on the wayward limbs.

Shikaku narrowed his eyes as he watched Naruto, trying to figure out what was going on in that little head of his. Instead of pushing the legs off of him, like a normal person would, or forcing Kiba awake and into a fight as someone might expect a boy of Naruto's temperament to do, the boy just stared. He looked at those stick thin legs with the intensity of a scientist. After a full minute of study, Naruto cautiously reached out a hand and allowed his fingertips to rest against the skin of his friend's prone leg. Eyes darted between the point of connection and Kiba's mashed face. Finally, Naruto removed his hand but still didn't force the legs off of his body. A small contented smile on his face, Naruto fell asleep once again.

Shikaku finally drifted back to his own bedroom running the scene through his mind over and over again. His heart had clenched in his chest when he finally figured out what Naruto was doing. The child was so starved for positive physical interaction that he _literally_ didn't know what to do. And that wasn't even _positive_ interaction. It was just neutral, something done accidently in the Inuzuka's sleep that the boy wouldn't even know he had done by morning when he would likely have shifted position a dozen more times without waking or taking notice. But Naruto, Naruto had reacted like it was a hug. Like someone was intentionally wrapping him up in their embrace and he took great comfort in it.

Shikaku scrubbed his face hard with his hands, grimacing at the scratching of stubble against his palms. He sat at the edge of his bed and stared momentarily at the wall, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the notion that he was now directly responsible for _more _children, ones that he had not brought into the world, who _shouldn't_ be his responsibility, and yet they were there none the less. They were in his house, under his roof, and totally his responsibility. And they were going to be so much more complicated and troublesome than his own Shikamaru was. So much more damaged. So much more fragile.

"Can't sleep?" He said after a moment, aware from the sound of her breathing that Yoshino was still just as awake as he was.

His wife released a soft sigh and rolled onto her back. "Not even a little bit."

Shikaku laid himself down and reached out for his wife's hand. It was clammy and cold and he clenched a bit harder, trying to transfer his warmth over to her.

"I know he is just a boy. I do. I _know _it." She whispered softly into the darkness.

Shikaku's eyes drifted shut. "You told the Hokage to place him with us…" he pointed out.

"I know!" She hissed. "I know." She repeated, calmer the second time around. "I _know_. But I can't help the hitch in my breath when I see him standing there. I can't help my heart pounding when he speaks. I can't help my hands shaking when I put his plate in front of him. I can't help seeing him near Shikamaru and my fingers itching to snatch our boy away. I can't help it!"

"His name is Naruto." Shikaku pointed out flatly. People really needed to use the child's name. If they would, if they would just acknowledge that he was just as human as anyone else, as any other child running about the streets of Konoha every day, it would becoming dramatically more difficult to treat him the way that they did. But withholding Naruto's name, they withheld his humanity. He would become some 'other' in their minds and not just another child of Konoha, an orphan whose parents had died valiantly fighting against the threat of the Kyuubi. Instead, he was 'that kid' and 'that boy.' They could absolve themselves to some extent of the guilt that they should rightly feel for treating him so awfully or for failing to stop others when they had done so because in their minds, Naruto wasn't really _anybody_.

"I know."

"Then use it!" His hissed harsher than he had intended to, but he still meant it none the less. Still though, he ran his thumb along Yoshino's knuckles in a calming manner.

"I'll try!" She insisted. "It's not easy. The fox killed a lot of people, a lot of our friends…"

Shikaku would have rolled his eyes had they been open. "That argument doesn't work. Naruto isn't the fox."

"But every time I see him I think of the damn thing!"

Shikaku darted his eyes open and huffed in annoyance. "Why? I see a lonely little kid. We lost the same friends. Fought the same demon. But I can look at Naruto and see Naruto. That has never been a problem. So tell me why? Why can't you? Do you so doubt the abilities of the Fourth Hokage?"

Yoshino sat up abruptly, yanking her hand from his. "How dare you?! I would never doubt the Hokage!"

Shikaku sat up slowly to join his wife, "Then why are you so scared of Naruto? The only thing you would possibly have to fear from him is the failure of his seal."

"Shikaku!" Her fiery eyes locked on his. "Look at the boy. Just look at him! You remember that demon. You know the anger, the _malice_ that poured off of him. The terror that swept over the village as it began to destroy our home. You remember all of that. You're telling me that you can recall of that and look at that little boy and think that he can stand against _all of that_. That innocent little naïve boy?! He doesn't know how to fold his clothing properly! He doesn't know that you are supposed to take your shoes off in someone's home! He doesn't know how to talk softer inside the house so that people don't go deaf. He uses chopsticks like a shovel! He's just a child, a little boy! You're telling me that you think Naruto can face all of that every day and hold it back!"

Shikaku narrowed his eyes back at his wife. "He stands against all of the hate and all of the anger and all of the malice from the people of this village every day. And yet, he still smiles and laughs and acts every bit the _child_ that he is."

"But still…"

"But _nothing_ Yoshino!" Shikaku pulled at his hair to direct his growing anger elsewhere. "He is a child. Our son's friend. And we shouldn't be seeing him as anything other than those two things." He sighed heartily and glanced up to his wife and saw the conflicted emotions on her face. He knew she was trying, which was already more than most villagers would do on any given day. But Shikaku had seen the little boy as nothing other than that. Because he had seen the massive man-sized hand print on Naruto's child-sized neck, too small even for his young age. And he knew that Naruto had been forced to learn to get Iruka before seeking medical help. And he had heard the whispers filling the village since that night, not a single one making Naruto out to be the victim that he was.

And he knew it wasn't just the civilians either.

As a strategist, he was often expected to concoct plans involving the village jinchuuriki, based on what the previous Konoha jinchuuriki, as well as ones belonging to other villages, had been able to do. At no point is there ever reference to the jinchuuriki as a person. They are always discussed as a weapon. Even in his report about the Inuzuka incident, he had to refer to Naruto as a _weapon_.

Everyone sees the fox when what they should see that boy. That he was a child before he was anything else.

And the worst part was, Naruto didn't even _know_.

He knows that the village seems to hate him. He knows that he is all alone. He knows that the other kids can't play with him without that parents pulling them away or them getting in trouble.

He knows all of that.

But the child doesn't know _why_. And how cruel a fate was that? To force a child to be raised in the village that stressed bonds above everything else, and then _deny_ him that very thing could almost be described as torture. Especially to someone like Naruto, who was the epitome of a social creature. He was forever on the other side of the glass, watching everyone else interact, make friends, share their lives, and never knowing why no one would do the same with him.

Shikaku felt a cold sensation settle in his stomach as he remembered seeing that horrifying acceptance in those big blues eyes that night. Kiba's eyes had been wide in shock and fear. Surprise and confusion had warred over the Inuzuka's face. Not Naruto. The blonde had been collected and disturbingly calm about the whole thing. There was not a trace of surprise or fear that someone would attack him. Seeing an all-out brawl in his tiny little one room apartment didn't seem that much of a shock either. As his possessions were destroyed and his home trashed the child had looked _resigned_. With a facial expression that seemed to ask the universe, _Again?_

"He is the strongest person in this village." Shikaku said softly. "But he's also the most vulnerable. He needs to feel connected to this village or he will grow up to hate it. The place he should call home will become a prison to him. All those things you said: that he doesn't know how to fold his clothing properly or speak in an inside voice. Who do you think is going to teach him? The orphanage kept him alive until Naruto requested to leave and then he's been alone in his apartment with occasional visits from the Hokage and the loose eyes of the ANBU when they can spare it."

Yoshino's eyes had furrowed. "What do you mean he 'requested to leave?'"

Shikaku sighed. "I looked into his file since we were taking him in. Just after his fifth birthday he asked the Hokage if he could move. Some drunks had come pounding on the doors demanding Naruto be sent out so they could _'take care_' of him. The orphanage didn't send him out obviously, but it scared the kids and the workers alike. There were nightmares for weeks. And it was already well known which orphanage Naruto was in. Prospective parents weren't going there to find children, afraid that exposure to Naruto would mean that they were somehow infected or tainted, so the adoption rate from that orphanage had gone way down. The older kids knew that it had something to do with Naruto and started to bully him and the younger kids started joining in. The orphanage actually hadn't been too bad a place for Naruto before that, but there were so many kids it was hard to give a lot of time or focus to any one of them." He rubbed his face once more as the weight of the day and the conversation continued to settle into his weary body. "The Hokage directly quoted Naruto: 'None of the other kids are getting families because of me. Even if I don't get one, they should. I don't want them to be alone forever. Kids should have families.' A few days later Naruto was in his apartment."

Yoshino bit her lip and let her eyes drift closed.

"He isn't as naïve as you think. He is aware of more going on around him than he lets on. Because of how he had been raised so far, he is both beyond his years in some ways and stunted behind his peers in others."

Yoshino shook her head and then ducked it into his shoulder, sliding one arm around Shikaku's torso and clinging. "It's not fair…" she mumbled after a moment.

Shikaku snorted. "Life is rarely fair for anyone. And we're ninja, we tempt fate too much to ever assume that life would be fair to us. But still, we have to keep moving forward."

"We'll make things better for him." Yoshino whispered with determination. "Him and Kiba and Hana." She pulled her head and Shikaku saw a fierceness in her eyes that reminded him of just how formidable she had been as a ninja which he had somehow forgotten, or at least dampened in his memory over the years of her retirement. "While these children are with us we will be a family, a real _family_. This will be a _safe_ place for them."

Shikaku smiled and wrapped his own arm around Yoshino's slight frame and pulled her in, indicating his agreement without words.

As the couple finally managed to drift off to sleep, Shikaku thought for a moment of that small little smile on Naruto's face – one of the only _true_ smiles he had ever seen from the boy – and hoped that he would see more of them in the future and that Naruto, and Kiba, and Hana, and his own Shikamaru would find peace here going forward.


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 10

* * *

Shikamaru winced at the loud racket that had invaded the normally calm home of the Nara family.

Kiba, naturally boisterous as he was, would yell loudly and bang things around on the table and generally be a menace. Naruto, trying to compete, would be louder and even more boisterous, aided by his lack of proper socialization which had the blonde bellowing over the Inuzuka in no time flat.

Hollering above all of the din however was Hana Inuzuka, more than used to this type of behavior but knowing that it was utterly inappropriate in a setting outside of her own home and trying with mounting desperation to hush the two loudmouths down in the presence of a clan head and his family but all she actually did was add to the general ruckus that had taken over the kitchen.

Shikaku had to duck immediately upon entering the kitchen as a wad of rice sailed through the air, splatting onto the wall next to the open doorway. The patriarch arched an eyebrow which Shikamaru could only shrug in response to.

"Quiet!" Yoshino bellowed, bringing the chaos to a complete standstill. She had her hands planted firmly on her hips and glared down the children in her kitchen like they were an enemy on the battlefield. "_What_ is going on in here?"

One sharply pointed finger was all it took to stop Kiba from speaking as the boy opened his mouth. "Nope. Hana?" She asked, eyes still locked on the boys.

"Um…Kiba said he could finish all of the food quicker than Naruto. Naruto challenged him back. Somehow it ended up all yelling and boasting and no actual eating."

Shikamaru saw his mother's knuckles whitening as she clenched tighter around the wooden spoon, thrust awkwardly from her side. He knew that usually this meant that someone was about to be hit – and for once it wasn't going to be him or dad…

"Kiba." She said sternly. "In your seat now." Kiba jumped down from his position standing on the chair and sat down, watching Yoshino wearily. "No talking. Eat your food, chew and swallow." Kiba jerked his head in a nod.

"Hana," she turned on the lone girl, "Thank you for trying, but screaming _louder_ doesn't help."

Hana ducked her head, blushing lightly, and picked her chopsticks through her remaining breakfast. She smiled slightly though, when Yoshino rested her hand lightly on the girl's shoulder for a moment, nonverbally telling her that all was forgiven.

There was a slight sigh, "Naruto…" The blonde had sunk in to his chair, clutching his fingers around the seat. His face was screwed up in a grimace as he seemed to brace himself to whatever Yoshino was going to toss at him.

Shikamaru noted that his classmate actually looked like someone who was bracing for a beating. Normally he would have thought that odd. His mother wasn't going to mash Naruto's face in, at worst she would smack the back of your hand with the spoon. But Naruto was only a few days out of the hospital after being beaten by a classmate's parent – no wonder he was reacting badly to his mother.

A glance at his mother's face showed him that she had seen the reaction too. Her own expression curiously blank, she walked around the table and started to clear up the blonde's dishes – most of the food having flown to the floor or flopped on the table, or even into Naruto's hair. "Let's get you cleaned up and get you a little more to eat." She placed a hand softly on the child's shoulder, but Naruto flinched badly, making the chair creak with the force of his little body pushing back.

Yoshino Nara closed her eyes, breathing out through her nose. She pressed her lips together, the corners curling down in such a way that Shikamaru knew meant that she was sad or disappointed. Given the way that those corners were trembling ever so slightly, he would go with sad for this particular instance.

"Naruto." She said it quietly, not moving, hand still resting on his shoulder, but not squeezing or doing anything more than laying there. "How about you go wash up okay? Then meet me in the kitchen so that I can check how you're healing."

Naruto cracked one eye open and seemed to study the woman through the slit before nodding, quickly scuttling off of the chair and onto the other side, giving Shikaku a wide birth and darting down the hallway. A door slammed shut a second later.

There was a moment of silence in the room before Shikaku cleared his throat and walked over to the table, placing his hand gently on Shikamaru's back for a moment as he sat down next to the boy. Eyes kept shifting to the doorway that Naruto had just darted out of as everyone seemed to be trying to figure out what to say in the silence left in his wake.

Clearing his throat once again, Shikaku gave it a go. "Shikamaru, Kiba," the boys turned their attention to the Nara clan head, "Does Naruto always behave that way around grown-ups or is this something new?"

Kiba shrugged. "How should _we_ know? The only adults who ever talk to Naruto are Iruka-sensei and that old ramen shop guy."

"What about your other instructors?" Yoshino inquired.

Here Shikamaru snorted, putting down his bowl of rice and looking at his mother with humorless eyes. "Naruto's never in class long enough to see him interact with _anyone_ let alone the teachers."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean son?"

Shikamaru sighed, this was so troublesome. "Iruka-sensei never kicks Naruto out, but Naruto is best behaved in Iruka-sensei's lectures. Everyone else just kicks him out of the classroom in the first five minutes to go stand in the hall."

Hana looked appalled, Shikaku resigned, but Yoshino had that same quivering lip, sad face that she had only just gotten rid of moments before.

Kiba chimed in, "Yeah! It's bul – um – bogus too! Totally bogus!"

Yoshino had quirked at eyebrow at Kiba's choice of language, whereas Hana entered with a question of her own. "What are you talking about Kiba?"

Kiba was on his feet, smirk on his lips as all attention focused on him. "They always says he is 'disrupting class' or 'causing a scene' or 'being disrespectful.' Even when he's not doing nothin'."

Shikaku glanced at Shikamaru, "Is this true?"

Shikamaru nodded and shrugged simultaneously. "Sometimes he is…but most of the time he's asking someone what page we're on, or to borrow a pencil, or telling someone who is picking on him to leave him alone. But sometimes his voice is too loud and it carries or the kid who is picking on Naruto claims that Naruto is picking on _him_ instead."

Shikaku pushed his thumb and forefinger into the corners of his eyes. "Of course."

"And then they forget him out there." Kiba added.

"Forget him?" Yoshino asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah. They never go and get Naruto and tell him that he can come back in. Not once."

Hana looked scandalized, "But the Academy Handbook says that isolation punishment can never be more than 15 minutes."

Kiba snorted. "Right…they leave him out there until lunch, if it's morning, or the end of the day if it's afternoon."

"Or until Iruka-sensei comes back and pulls Naruto back into the room for his lectures." Shikamaru added. "Sometimes I think that's why he cuts school so often."

"What's the point if they don't let me go to class anyway?" Naruto's voice drifted from the doorway.

The group looked guilty at having been caught discussing the blonde without him there. He had changed his clothing into something equally garish as the last outfit and his hair was dripping a bit, having been rinsed out to remove wayward food particles. That Cheshire grin was yanked across his face but to Shikamaru it felt cold. This was the smile Naruto threw up whenever he wanted everyone to think that he was okay.

"Naruto!" Yoshino gave the boy a small smile, but it was the tone that caught Shikamaru's attention. It was the first time that someone who wasn't Iruka-sensei had sounded happy to see the blonde. A quick glance in that boy's direction told him that Naruto had noticed that as well. "Why don't you come with me into the other room and I can give you that check up!" She held out her hand in an open gesture but made no move towards the boy whose eyes darted between the offered appendage and her eyes which were nothing but gentle.

He slowly moved stepped forward and cautiously laid his small tanned palm within Yoshino's pale thin one. She ran her thumb once over his knuckles before gently pulling him towards the kitchen so she could do the exam without others watching. Naruto's eyes wouldn't leave the joined hands as they left the room.

Shikamaru's throat felt tight at the scene and he couldn't really explain why but Hana looked a little wispy eyed as well. Shikaku looked like he was deep in thought.

Kiba though was just deep into what was left of his breakfast.

Shikamaru scratched at his head and asked to be excused.

As he wandered back to his bedroom he shook his head. Things were different in the house now. Way more complicated – _way more troublesome_. A couple of kids who behave like pack animals, a kid who doesn't know how to behave like _anything_ all shoved under the roof of a family who were used to rather calm interactions most of the time with an incredible detailed routine that was now going up in smoke.

Shikamaru just knew that the noisiness and the stress was going to increase.

_But it is only temporary_, he told himself. _Once Mrs. Inuzuka clears through counseling, she'll have Kiba and Hana back. And once Naruto's apartment is rebuilt he'll be back there on his own._

Shikamaru shoved down the odd feeling in his gut at the thought of Naruto all alone in that apartment, in that run down building, in a part of town that had seen better days.

Shikamaru had walked in that part of town before, with his dad. People there had a pinched and desperate look about them. It wasn't just stray cats and dogs scrounging through the garbage there, people and even families did it. Desperate for something to use or eat or sell.

He couldn't imagine that Naruto's apartment was very home-like. More like a cell. Maybe that was why Naruto was so loud. It was his desperate plea against the silence. His scream into the void. Please notice me. Please acknowledge me. Please. Please. _Please_. Because he lived in a ghost house. An apartment devoid of life until he brought it in to rest at night. It was oppressive. It was terrifying. It was dismal. And so Naruto cried out to the world the only way he knew how, begging them to prove that he was there. That he existed. That he hadn't been absorbed by the lifelessness that was his "home" and to tell him that he was still someone. He was real. He was alive. Naruto needed that proved to him on a daily basis, because maybe sometimes, he honestly didn't know anymore.

Shikamaru shivered. He was overthinking things again. Curse of intellect, he'd heard his father say once, was to always look for the complicated when the simple was usually the answer.

Shikamaru promptly climbed out his window upon closing his door and headed off into the Nara woods. He needed peace and quiet and relaxation after that breakfast.

He was going to need it a lot.


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 11

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki sat alone in his bedroom in the Nara home. Kiba wasn't there. He'd woken up with a nightmare not too long ago and had snuck to his sister's room, thinking Naruto was asleep.

And the blonde _had_ been until Kiba had kicked out hard just as he woke up, battling some demon unseen but within his own mind.

Naruto sat up slowly as the door closed and wrapped his arms around his legs.

He wondered what that was like. What was it like to wake up in the middle of the night and not be alone? What was it like to be scared and have someone to run to? Someone to whisper that everything was fine? Someone to ruffle their hands through your hair and check for monsters in the closet even though both of you knew that there was really anything there, but it made you feel better nonetheless? What was it like?

He rested his chin against his knees, face scrunched in concentration.

He had no idea.

Maybe it had been the ideas floating around before he drifted back off to sleep, or the influence of Kiba's own nightmare, but soon enough Naruto was trashing under his covers, mumbling to people unseen.

But for the first time in his life, when Naruto jolted awake he wasn't alone.

The blonde found himself bundled into the lap of Shikaku Nara, himself sitting against the wall, cross-legged, eyes dropping with sleep, but concern still evident within.

The chill of the dream was chased away by the warmth of the arms wrapped around him. The fear calmed by the steadiness of the heartbeat he could hear in the chest his own head rested against.

And Naruto looked up at the man who was kind, even while complaining. The man who had fought for him in his apartment. The man who winked at him over breakfast in the morning when Naruto caught himself beginning to shout and stopped and had been so proud of himself because Shikamaru's mom had been trying to teach him _inside_ rules. The man who had _never_ looked at him like _that_. The man who called him by his name!

_Shikamaru is lucky_, Naruto thought.

_I want a dad_, was the next thought.

Then Naruto started crying, sobbing really. Completely out of proportion to the dream that he had just experienced, because it wasn't the dream that was the cause of his tears. Curling into the broad chest next to him, clutching fingers grasping on the tattered t-shirt that the man had worn to bed, clinging on for dear life as the tide that had been out his entire childhood came rushing in, Naruto wept for what was not.

Why him?

Why did _both_ of his parents have to die?

Why did he have to be alone?

Why did he have to be alone while other kids had parents and siblings and clans and friends…?

Why did Shikamaru get a dad who wakes up in the middle of the night to a child having a bad dream and got up and cradled the child to his chest even though it _wasn't his own child_?

Why did Shikamaru complain about his family and parents all the time when they did things like this?

Why would anyone complain about there being someone _there_ in the middle of the night?

Why?

Naruto cried and cried and cried. A life of injustice pouring out into one man's nightshirt.

Always having watched from afar, never really knowing what it was like, Naruto was for the first time feeling what it meant to be comforted. To feel protected and safe even from his own mind. Naruto had never before known exactly what it was that he was missing, only that it was _something_.

But now he knew. The memory of this seemingly inconsequential night would stay with him for the rest of his life. Because now he knew what the caring arms of a parent felt like, and knowing that this might be the only time that he might never feel this again, that he would soon be back all alone in his empty apartment, was more than he could bare.

It was something that he never wanted to let go of and would cling to for as long as he could.

And so he cried. He cried until his body had no more strength and then he slumbered, hand still clenching tight at the man who dared to care.

Shikaku, for the life of him, couldn't fathom where the sudden depression had come from. He knew it was more than the delayed reaction of a child waking from a nightmare, it was deeper than that. Crying from fear is primal, the body does it of its own accord. But the tears that raced down Naruto's flushed cheeks were something else. He was _mourning_. And Shikaku couldn't figure out why.

Really there were only two things that could baffle the enviable mind of Shikaku Nara: women and children. And right now he had a house full of both of them.

Heaving a heavy sigh, noticing the grimace and small moan released by his captor at the sudden motion and studied tear-stained cheeks.

As gracefully as he was able, Shikaku rose to his feet, one arm around the boy's shoulders, the other tucked under his knees. Holding the child close to his chest Shikaku was thrown by the realization of just how small Naruto was, that even _Shikamaru_, who thought taking the time to go to the table was too much effort, weighed more than the boy. A protective urge rose up in him, the strongest yet he had experienced for the blonde and that included the night of the attack on him at his apartment. Something would have to be done to ensure the boy's health, he was grossly undersized for his age. Yoshino and he could work out what to do about that tomorrow.

For now, he had a scared little boy to take care of.

He hadn't had to do this for years for Shikamaru, who had long since decided that running to mommy and daddy with a nightmare was too much trouble to go through.

Cradling the village outcast to his chest, Shikaku carried the boy into his bedroom, Yoshino slightly awake and already pulling back covers, ready to cuddle the little boy in his exhausted sleep. She tossed one arm around the young boy who instinctively moved into the embrace.

Neither noticed the dark eyes watching from the slit of an open door in the hallway.


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 12

* * *

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched as Kiba shouted down the hallway before barreling down it himself, only to leap from the window at the end of the hall and into the greenery outside to tackle Naruto who had been running around outside the house.

"Ever hear of a door?" Shikamaru grumbled to himself, slinking into his room and firmly shutting the door behind him. With a thoughtful glance towards the window, he also lowered the pane so at least Kiba would have to work to bounce in through the window.

The Nara heir was on edge. He hadn't slept properly in days because the Inuzuka's practically woke with the sun and shouted through morning workouts just outside his window. He would finally fall back asleep and then Naruto would come bursting in with a question or just his bubbling energy wanting to play.

Or bizarrely asking if Shikamaru wanted to help make breakfast...

Seriously. Breakfast.

Why the hell would he want to _help make breakfast_? Shikamaru had to shake his head at the notion that the blonde found that an exciting prospect.

Then during the day, Kiba was always loud and brash as ever, wanting to make everything into a competition and seemingly determined to win all of them as well.

And Shikamaru hadn't played shougi even _once_ with his father since the other kids arrived, even though his dad had promised him that they would play to work on developing his "strategic mind." His dad was so busy with work and keeping a handle on the rambunctious new sources of energy in the house that Shikaku didn't even think about the game. His mother was busy, in addition to her normal routine, with tutoring Naruto, who was forever behind, and trying to push some manners and etiquette into the blonde's brain as well.

And apparently Naruto was throwing himself into the lessons with gusto as well and Shikamaru had to hear _all the time_ about how proud she was of him.

She hadn't nagged Shikamaru about his study habits even once since the others had arrived. He'd initially been happy for the reprieve but now…now he didn't know what to think about it.

As the children returned to school, Shikamaru very determinedly made sure that things stayed the same as they had been before. He still sat with Chouji. He still slept through his classes and half-assed the lessons where he couldn't sleep for whatever reason. And he still was no closer with Naruto and Kiba, who were sharing a table now, than he had ever been before. He did not hang out with them between classes. He did not share lunch with the pair. He did not act in any way other than his normal pattern.

So much so that he was attracting the concerned eye of their sensei which Shikamaru promptly ignored.

But dammit _everything_ had changed so much _all at once_! He wanted _one thing_ in his life to stay the same. At school _only_ Kiba and Naruto had changed. But neither had really ever had close friends, not like Shikamaru and Chouji were, so their deciding to orbit around each other for the moment didn't affect the social order any really, not enough to call the gossip mongers down on them anyway.

Chouji knew something was going on and kept asking why Shikamaru was being so strange, but the Nara didn't know how to explain it to his longtime friend, he didn't know where to even begin. Because secretly, as much as they annoyed him with the trouble they brought into the house, Shikamaru also felt guilty. Guilty to such an extreme extent that his young mind decided that this was punishment. His penance to pay for sending Biyoku to Naruto's doorstep, even unwittingly.

So he would just sigh, mumble something about it being troublesome, and adjust his head for his next nap.

They'd had an exam at school today and the other boys were racing home. Kiba was being chased by his sister because the score had been less than stellar. Naruto ran because he had passed and he wanted to show it off to Yoshino who had helped him study. Shikamaru just slouched along behind them. It's just a test, what's the big deal?

Sure Naruto had never passed before…

And sure, he'd never had anyone to show his grades off to before…

And sure, no one would have cared to look at them anyway even if he had been top of the class…

…oh…

…he'll just shut up now.

When Shikamaru finally walked in, calling out a "Tadaima," into the once quiet house, he was not heard over the exclamations from the kitchen about how proud Yoshino was of the boy, and that they could start studying earlier next time and get an even better grade.

Sighing, Shikamaru fixed the piles of shoes by the door and sorted into some semblance of order before he padded over to the kitchen, putting his own test paper on the counter for his mother to see.

She looked at his perfectly average test and pursed her lips, but no comments about how she knew he was smarter than this passed her lips.

Shikamaru stomped off.

Did they forget which kid was actually _theirs_?

Things carried on that way for a while.

Later that week Shikamaru peaked into his father's home office. "Hey dad, up for a game of shougi?"

Shikaku looked up from a bit of paperwork and scratched at his chin. "Well, I promised Naruto I would help him with shuriken training in a few minutes," Shikamaru could feel his twitching eyebrow threatening to return, "but after that we can play a game." Shikamaru practically beamed. _Finally_!

Shikaku looked a bit guilty, "We haven't played in a while have we?"

Shikamaru attempted to nonchalantly shrug his tense shoulders, "It's fine…"

Shikaku raised an eyebrow at his son but said nothing.

Shikamaru headed off, footfalls light, happy at the notion of a good game of shougi and the idea of his father's undivided attention, because everyone knew not to interrupt Shikaku Nara when he was playing shougi, or you would find out just how much deadly skill he hid behind all of his lack-luster attitude.

Shikamaru participated in shuriken practice, internally proud that he was still better than Naruto at it, content with the knowledge that his own time with his father would begin shortly.

But that is when things went south for Shikamaru Nara's hopeful plans for the evening.

Kiba showed up to their throwing practice and tried to make it a competition. It somehow devolved into a brawl. Shikaku tried to break it up before it went any further than that but soon enough there were fists flying.

The Nara clan frowned heavily on use of their shadow technique for what would be called discipline so it never even crossed Shikaku's mind to use it to stop the two ruffians. Instead he raced after the boys on foot, pulling them apart and marveling at their flexibility as they bent in unusual, almost infeasible, ways to evade him and slip from capture.

Twenty minutes later two filthy boys were being carted in under the arms of an equally messy Shikaku, to face the stern eye of Yoshino.

Shikamaru gave his father a few minutes to clean up and when he went to the man's room to ask if they could start their shougi match. To his dismay, he found his father asleep on the bed, worn out from the romp through the fields with Naruto and Kiba after his already long day, the latest in a series of progressively long days since their company had come to stay.

Shikamaru clenched his fist and bit down on his lip. _Come on!_

He turned swiftly on his heal and silently made his way to the door, slipped on his shoes and calmly walked out of the house.

And when nobody noticed or took off after him, Shikamaru wasn't at all surprised.

* * *

His feet took him to the Akimichi compound, quickly being pulled into the house by his best friend's mother, loaded down with food and waved off to Chouji's bedroom to "digest" before coming back for more courses later.

"So…" Chouji started as Shikamaru plopped down in the chair for Chouji's desk, resting his head on the palm of a propped up hand. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Okay…"

Shikamaru could feel Chouji staring at him and peeled his eyes open to meet his best friend's gaze. "They're jerks. And I'm a jerk. And it all just comes together to make one giant…" Shikamaru swirled one hand through the air, fishing for a word or phrase and coming up empty, "jerk-fest." He finally decided on.

"Jerk-fest?"

Shikamaru nodded once, decisively, "Yup."

"You want to back up for me?" Chouji asked, settling back on his bed, shoulders leaning against the wall that his bed sidled up against.

Shikamaru took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "It's my fault."

"What is?"

"What happened to Naruto."

Chouji just stared at his friend, something like confusion and shock darting about his face. Before he could open his mouth to ask anything, Shikamaru plowed on.

"They didn't know that Kiba was at Naruto's. Nobody even knew that the two could even stand each other except me. If I didn't always watch everyone all the time…." Shikamaru trailed off. It was no use examining 'what ifs.' It wouldn't help anything right now. "So Naruto got hurt and Kiba and Hana got pulled out of their house and don't get to see their mom and it's my fault."

"It's Mr. Inuzuka's fault."

Chouji had said it rather bluntly, which surprised Shikamaru and glancing up he could see that his friend was less than impressed with the Nara at the moment, no matter that he was the Akimichi heir's best friend.

"But they would never have known…"

"They would have figured it out, Konoha isn't a huge place. You just feel so guilty because it happened to be _you_ that Mr. Inuzuka heard."

"Exactly!"

Chouji smacked his face. "For someone so smart you are acting pretty stupid." He said through his fingers.

"I know!"

Chouji raised his head, "You know? So what's the problem then?"

Shikamaru squirmed in his seat. "Everything…" he said again, softly. "At first I thought it would be fine having them around all the time. Mom would have a girl to fuss with and Naruto and Kiba would grab their attention and I could slip under the radar."

"And what happened?"

"Exactly that."

"So, what you thought would happen, what you had been okay with happening, happened…and this is _bad_?"

"They're so loud! Kiba slams everything and yells and challenges everyone to some kind of race or game, Naruto plays right along with it whenever he's not being the _perfect little boy _for mom. In the last week he has never complained, not once. He does _extra_ chores, asks for help with tutoring and would rather be in with my mom or dad than out playing with Kiba, which makes Kiba even louder because he wants someone to mess around with, who then tracks _me_ down and won't leave me alone until _Hana_ comes along and bams him one in the head and then _they_ are yelling at each other and then my mom is yelling on top of it…" Shikamaru sighed, "And between work and Naruto and Kiba always asking for training help, my dad is too busy to play shougi or do any of the things that we usually do together…"

"You're jealous that they are taking your mom and dad away?"

"I'm their son!" Shikamaru exploded. "I know there are other kids around, and I can take care of myself, but they should still acknowledge me! But nothing. They are too busy with the others that they don't have time to think about _their own_ _kid_!" Shikamaru pouted and then did something he hadn't since he was an infant, he pouted. Thrust out his lower lip and crossed his arms over his chest, face turned to the side so that he didn't have to meet his friend's eyes.

"Shikamaru, I'm sure they aren't trying to do that…"

"But they are! They may not be _trying_ to but they _are_ doing it…"

All of a sudden Chouji was laughing. Laughing _very_ hard. He had his arms around his middle and he fell sideways on the bed he was sitting on, consumed by unstoppable giggles.

"What's so funny?!" Shikamaru demanded, granted he was starting to feel the urge to laugh as well.

"You sound like Ino!" Chouji gasped out, stopping Shikamaru up short.

"I…Wha…?!"

"You're whining about not being the center of attention…"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Shikamaru glowered at his friend before burying his face into his arms, crossed over the desk.

"But really! You are acting like Ino! Where is Shikamaru? Where is my best friend who would think this is all _such a drag_?" Chouji had calmed his laughing down but still seemed to be teasing his first ever friend, and quite enjoying it.

Shikamaru perked up his head and scrubbed at his face. "You're right," he mumbled through his hands.

Chouji smiled proudly and grabbed a bag of chips off of his bed stand, popped the bag open and pulled out the first chip, crunching it satisfactorily as though is celebration of his accomplishment.

"I sound like a selfish brat." Shikamaru grumbled, resting back and trying to see the situation from Chouji's viewpoint.

"A little bit." Chouji agreed. "But it's temporary, they won't be with you forever and then things will go back to normal."

Shikamaru furrowed his brow. He wasn't so sure about that. Lots of things were changing, very quickly. Things that were fundamental to the lives of children. He wasn't so sure that all of them could just be turned back again to the way that they were before. Like – his mom would be used to a kid _voluntarily helping with chores_! How was Shikamaru supposed to live with _that?_! And Naruto would be used to a life with people to come home to at the end of the day…

"You just feel guilty because of the thing with Mr. Inuzuka. It's not a normal feeling for you, so…maybe this is just how you deal with it?" Chouji offered up the explanation with raised eyebrows and a half shrug before plunging his hand into the bag of chips and scarfing another handful.

Shikamaru studied his friend. "So…I'm…angry about being guilty…and aiming that anger at Kiba and Naruto and Hana because I don't know where else to aim it at?"

Chouji shrugged, "Maybe?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Such a drag…"

The boys spent a few hours watching the clouds drift by and talking about anything else and for a while Shikamaru felt like everything was back to normal and the world wasn't tilted off its axis anymore. There was no desperate feeling of clinging by his fingernails, because there was no need to cling. This was his and would always be. This friendship with Chouji. Nothing would ever be able to change this.

But then it was time to go home, back to the reality of his madhouse of a home. Kiba would be yelling, Hana would be yelling, Naruto would be yelling at them to stop, his mother would be brandishing her wooden soup spoon and if his father was home he would be exhausted or trying to calm Kiba down because that would calm the rest of them in response.

"What are you gonna do?" Chouji asked as they made their way down the hill.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I still don't think I'm wrong, and I can't change how I feel. I know it's temporary, but I am their _permanent_ kid, I shouldn't be kicked to the side. Even for just a little while."

"Why don't you talk to them about it?"

Shikamaru balked, "I'm not a _girl_! I'll just deal with it until it's over. Talking it out will just be a big pain and not doing anything but get everyone mad and riled up. It'll be done with soon enough…"

Chouji raised his eyebrow at Shikamaru, wondering if he should mention that with the comparison to Ino…he _was_ being rather like a girl, a specific one in fact, but decided to let it pass. He knew it was really bugging his friend, but Shikamaru was smart – he would figure everything out.


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

I KNOW I KNOW! I fell off the face of the earth. But life is a thing that happened and I wasn't in a head space to be trying to be creative. But I am back and my sister is going to be on my back about actually keeping up with this so you should all thank her.

Alright, here we go again – back to No Thanks Necessary!

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 13

* * *

Kiba didn't believe it when it first happened.

Because out of all of the people in the house…Shikamaru would have been the _last_ one that he expected to pull some sort of prank like this.

And on _Naruto_ of all people.

But there it was nonetheless.

Naruto stood just outside the Nara boy's window, having attempted to pull himself up on the ledge and allow himself inside to awaken the boy who had barricaded his door, had his blonde hair plastered to his face, dripping water and shivering just a bit in the chilly morning wind of early fall.

Shikamaru had apparently rigged the ledge with a wire that had remained unnoticed until now. The wire pulled out a loose plank in the underside of the roof that hung just over the boy's window, freeing the cascades of water balloons from within to crash onto Naruto's unsuspecting head.

Kiba has seen the momentary look of betrayed shock on the blonde's face before it was covered over with the ever present grin and belly aching laugh that rang hollow across the lawn.

Shikamaru had _never_ done anything to Naruto. Everyone else had, even Chouji would snicker at the blonde, but _Shikamaru_ never did anything.

Shikamaru was the one person in Naruto's life who just accepted the boy and let him be.

But now…that was gone.

So Kiba shuddered at the hollow gaze that had been glimpsed even if it had been shuttled away quickly enough.

Kiba didn't know what to do. It was such a foreign concept to him that he froze on the lawn for a moment. But Naruto had helped him, had helped him and gotten beat up because of it. Now Kiba could help Naruto with something. So Kiba ran up to Naruto and they started plotting revenge.

* * *

The Nara house had become an adolescent warzone.

Several times a day crashes and yelps and muttered curses could be heard clanging through the house, followed quickly by the irritated yells of Yoshino Nara, or a deeply heaved sigh from Shikaku. But no punishment seemed to matter. For once, Shikamaru wasn't being idle either and swiftly retaliated for everything that was thrown his way with increasing intensity.

School held no safe zone either.

Homework would be shredded, textbook pages glued together, even the old standby of whoopee cushions were utilized to great amusement and embarrassment.

Finally, an enraged Iruka Umino had had enough. With the trio of eight year olds bound in a huddle, he gathered them up and stomped off to the Nara compound, muttering dangerously under his breath so that even Naruto and Kiba were failing to squirm in attempt to free themselves.

He made quite a spectacle and thanks to the gossip mill of Konoha, word had reached the Nara head well before they had reached his door, where he was waiting with a heavy frown on his face, arms crossed across his chest and eyes narrowed, studying them like they were an intricate puzzle or a shougi board.

Yoshino Nara stood next to her husband, an expression on her face like she had tried to swallow a lemon, disappointment in her eyes and Kiba was fairly certain that the wooden spoon in her hand was splintering from the force of her grip.

"Thank you Iruka-sensei," Shikaku grumbled as their bound forms were deposited roughly on the ground at the base of the steps into the house. "We'll take it from here."

Iruka's lips had compressed to a white line and he nodded tersely and offered a slight bow to the jounin before turning and leaving the property, without looking back.

The trio sat, still bound by rather tight ropes, and waited for their lecture and punishment or whatever was going to rain down on them from the cross couple looming over them.

"Enough." Shikaku finally growled. "We've all had it up to here with your nonsense you three." He announced with his hand jutting out level with the top of his spiked hair.

"I'm so disappointed in all of you," Yoshino said quietly. Kiba ducked his head, while Shikamaru scowled darkly staring off into the woods and Naruto sniffled, trying to hold back tears. That reaction surprised Kiba, because Naruto almost never cried, not even when the older kids tracked him down in the street and beat him bloody. And it wasn't like this was the first time he was in trouble for pranks or anything. He wanted to ask the blonde why, but the glares being aimed at them from above told him that if he tried to speak even worse things would happen. "I don't know why you are behaving like this, but it needs to stop. You three are _friends_." She stressed the word, as though it was a foreign word to them whose meaning they have forgotten. "Why are you attacking each other?"

Kiba clamped his mouth shut, as did the other two. He wouldn't be a rat. But more importantly, he didn't even know what to say, he didn't really know the answer. And he doubted that the other two did either.

"You three are spending the weekend watching after the herd." Shikaku announced. "There is a doe that should be birthing soon that no one has seen in a few days. You three are going to find her." He sliced through their bindings with a blade that none of them had seen him retrieve and turned around without another word.

Yoshino sighed, "Pack up what you will need for the weekend, you won't come back until Sunday for supper."

An hour later the boys had packed up what they thought that they would need without a word. Sulking, they had slipped through the high grass of the back meadow, Naruto glancing back and whispering an "I'm sorry," in a hitching breath.

It was Friday night, meaning that they would be stuck in the woods for likely two nights looking for this stupid deer. Kiba kicked out at a stray stick, watching it shoot up to smack into a branch hanging over their heads only to careen down onto Naruto's head, sending the short child to the ground with a _humph_.

Naruto pushed himself up and Kiba couldn't stop himself. He snickered at the slightly baffled, partly pouty, covered in dirt and old leaves, appearance that his friend was now sporting.

"Argh!" With that as a battle cry Naruto leapt at Kiba, tackling the Inuzuka to the ground, scattering the items in the boy's pack as the poorly secured top flew open. Kiba immediately struck back, rolling so that Naruto was on his back in the dirt and the Inuzuka was suspended above him.

He pulled back a clenched hand to swing at the thrashing blonde when a dirt clod collided with the side of his head and crumbled away.

"Would you two STOP!" Shikamaru stomped a foot petulantly before turning around and crashing through the underbrush.

Naruto and Kiba just stared after him, giving time for the moment to pass and the pair to forget that they had been fighting about anything at all. Naruto helped Kiba collect his scattered belongings before they took off after the Nara who looked rather annoyed when Kiba's nose led them directly to the perturbed Nara heir.

Shikamaru stomped off through the trees, shoulder hitched up tight near his ears and grumbling under his breath. Two sets of curious eyes followed after him.

"What is his _problem_?" Kiba griped smacking a stick against a tree as they passed. "It's like he is suddenly Sasuke's twin or something."

Naruto nodded his agreement and scowled at Shikamaru's back. "He's become a huge jerk!"

Kiba wacked his stick hard enough to break some bark off of the tree and snap the instrument made a sharp sound that echoed throughout the relative quiet of the trees and it finally clicked in that they were alone in the woods. There were none of the sounds of town, of people calling out to their neighbors, children laughing as they played with their friends, dogs barking, or cart wheels creaking as they rolled through the streets. There was nothing but wind slicing through the trees, insects buzzing, and the aggravated stomp of Shikamaru's feet through the underbrush.

The two friends shared a glance before high-tailing it after their fellow traveler. Even if he was being annoying, he knew these woods and it would be better to travel with him than try and figure where they were going on their own.

* * *

Please review!

And again - sorry about the long hiatus!


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Onward!

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 14

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki sighed. He'd been doing that a lot today.

He hadn't meant to let things get so out of hand. He didn't realize until he'd already done some of the pranks that he might be going too far. But Kiba was right there with him – helping him! And with the Inuzuka egging him on well…

Naruto never had been very good at acting as his own conscience, and when someone else lacked one as well there was no hope for the hyperactive blonde.

Anyway, now the Naras were angry at him. He had been messing with their son.

How _stupid_ could he be?!

He had been trying so hard to keep his behavior good. Because Yoshino smiled at him, and not the empty smile he would get from the secretary at the Old Man's office, but a real one, focused just on him. And Shikaku would ruffle his hair, and ask how he was doing and actually tried to help Naruto understand the boring history that Iruka-sensei kept trying to force down their throats.

_That_ was a conspiracy…the Academy must be trying to weed out the weak of heart through sheer boredom.

But it didn't matter. Naruto had finally felt what it meant to belong somewhere and he'd blown it. He wondered how long it would be until his apartment was fixed. He bet he'd never see the Naras again after this. They'd tell him it was time to leave and not even watch as Naruto walked out the door. They'd never care to see or think of him again.

Because he was stupid and had blown it. Because he was stubborn and had to always try to be the one on top. Because he had chosen _their son_ as his latest prank target.

He huffed, pulling his knees into his chest, staring into the fire that Kiba had built in a pit they found at an outcropping of rocks that clearly had been used as shelter by other Naras as they tended to their meandering deer.

Shikamaru only responded to them with grunts and mutters of "troublesome" and had already turned over and gone to sleep for the night, his back to the both of them.

Not too long after, Kiba banked the fire and went to sleep himself, leaving Naruto to stare up at the night sky and wonder why he seemed to ruin everything. Was that why people were always mad at him? Because he just ruined everything he touched? Was that why everyone called him a demon?

Because for the first time in his life Naruto thought he might agree with them.

If he ever had anything good, he would find a way to destroy it. No matter how much he wanted to treasure it. No matter how much he wanted to keep it in his possession and have something to call his own, it wouldn't matter.

The second it became his, it was doomed.

* * *

The next morning, the trio traipsed down a gently sloping hill, following the tracks of the missing doe, Kiba's nose alerting them to the fact that the smell was getting stronger so the animal had likely been through this area more recently than the areas that they had been walking through the previous day.

"Mom says I've got the best nose in our family for generations!" Kiba boasted, thumb digging into his chest in overzealous confidence when Naruto asked how the boy knew where the deer was going.

Shikamaru pointed idly at a gap in the trees. "Tracks go that way…" he said after a heavy sigh and slouched off as the other two stared after his back.

Kiba's hand dropped back to his side and he silently stuck his tongue out at the Nara's back and the pair stomped along behind their sullen classmate into the trees.

They continued their trek, Shikamaru and Kiba continually having to wait up for Naruto who was slowed up by the countless woodland creatures who kept running up to the boy and darting about his legs. And Naruto would giggle and pet and play a bit with the small squirrels and rabbits that darted about with the blonde.

Kiba thought it was funny and laughed his ass off, calling Naruto an animal nanny.

Shikamaru just got progressively more peeved. He would grit his teeth, and eventually smack a fallen branch onto a tree or toss a stone near the group and the animals would scatter, Naruto's smile would slide off of his face and they would return to their search.

The tension in the air grew progressively worse as the three boys trudged on through the trees, interrupted by more cute animals or Naruto just toppling over his own feet or a random tree root. So when Kiba pointed out an uninhabited outcropping of rocks as night was starting to creep in, the group stumbled in and Shikamaru shed himself of his pack and moved as far away from Naruto as he could – his temper nearing the edge of his grasp.

Shikamaru set to clearing dirt, leaves and other debris from their shelter, while Kiba ran to the creek nearby to fill up their canteens. Naruto meanwhile was trying to get the fire started to fend off some of the chill that was creeping into the air.

But Naruto being Naruto meant that something had to go wrong. Normally, he would just stick the match into the collection of leaves and small twigs and watch it catch. But for some reason, these were a bit more resistant to the heat, so Naruto fingers were closed around the match just a little longer than they would have been normally, so the flames got a little farther down the match than they normally would have.

Naruto screeched, dropping the match and hopping up and down on his feet, waving his fingers through the air.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru hollered, grabbing the boy's wrist and forcing him to stop jumping around and taking a look at the reddened fingers.

Kiba had come running at the sound, carrying the filled canteens in his arms. "What's going on?"

Shikamaru grabbed one of the canteens, its strap tangling with the others and pulling all of them down out of Kiba's grip with a dull thunk. He ignored Kiba's shout of outrage, instead pouring one of the freshly filled canteens over Naruto's burned fingers, soothing away the pain that had so shocked the blonde into his earlier yelp.

The Nara took a solid look at Naruto's fingers and other than a little pink it didn't seem any worse than any other minor kitchen burn. "You'll be fine, but you can go soak it in the creek until the sting goes away." He muttered before turning to the fire and re-igniting the flames that had already burned through their tinder and faded out.

Naruto muttered a quick thanks and darted down to the creek to let his fingers sit in the gently flowing water for a while. A small smile sat on his face though – because Shikamaru had helped him. No matter how annoyed Shikamaru seemed to be with Naruto, he still didn't want Naruto to be hurt, so maybe they were still friends? That would be good.

* * *

Shikamaru poked idly at the fire with a long stick, crouched down just within reach of the radiating warmth. When Naruto had yelled, he had jumped into action without thinking. The thought of the boy being hurt because of some stupid mistake.

He knew all too well that stupid mistakes could cause pain.

He sighed and poked at the log some more. He was pathetic.

Naruto settled down next to him at the fire, clearly having finished with cooling his fingers. He had even filled the canteen that Shikamaru had emptied over his hand and placed it next to Shikamaru's foot.

"Hey…Shikamaru…?" Naruto's voice questioned softly into the night.

Shikamaru's looked up from the fire and saw that Kiba had his eyes trained on Naruto's face with unwavering attention.

He drifted his eyes over slowly to the blonde, who was biting his own lip and kept his eyes clenched shut.

Shikamaru felt something in his gut clench, this was fear. A low level of fear, but Naruto was approaching Shikamaru with fear – and he couldn't bear the thought of the boy who had to fear almost everyone in the village having to add him to the list as well.

"What Naruto?" He tried to keep his voice calm. He didn't want to come across as angry and shut Naruto down, but he couldn't admit bring himself to allow his voice to come out as weak as it wanted to, if only for his unwillingness to let himself be seen as weak, even if he knew himself to be.

"What did I do wrong?"

The question hung there in the air, like the sour tension in the air after a nightmare. Shikamaru's mouth went suddenly dry.

"I mean, most people are mean to me…and I don't know what I did wrong, but I must have done something…they wouldn't be so mean if I hadn't done nothing." His eyes were open, and voice heartbreakingly earnest. "But you…you used to be one of the few people who would talk to me, and were nice to me. You didn't look at me with _those eyes_ and even played with me after class!" There was a happy tint to his voice now and a small sad smile.

Naruto's eyes slid over to finally lock gazes with Shikamaru. "Now…now you pretend like you just don't hear me or see me. Like I'm invisible." Naruto's hands clenched into the fabric of his shorts, "That's worse than the bullies! At least bullies _see me_…"

Shikamaru kept working his throat, trying to work up enough spit to swallow, but he failed. He was worse than bullies huh? Well that was true enough – bullies tease Naruto and make him angry…but their words never landed the blonde in the hospital.

The Nara turned his eyes back to the fire. Not too long ago, Shikamaru had idly thought that Naruto was so loud because he was always screaming into the void, trying to make up for the silence he was surrounded by in his own home. And as that thought raced back to the front of his mind, Shikamaru found that he actually _could_ feel more scum-like than he already did. This whole situation sucked, it sucked for all of them, but he was the one making things worse…Chouji was right. Shikamaru was acting out of a mix of selfish blowback and misplaced guilt.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered. "I'm so sorry…" He closed his eyes and buried his face into arms that he had folded over his knees.

Slowly, Shikamaru explained everything. He told them about noticing the odd relationship between the pair, to his slip of the tongue, and his selfish behavior leading up to today. Throughout he slipped in apologies and requests for forgiveness and he struggled not to cry. He'd already cried enough over this.

"That's kind of stupid…" Kiba scratched at the back of his head.

"No it's not!" Naruto defended Shikamaru. "Well…I mean…thinking that what happened what your fault was stupid." He added quickly making Shikamaru feel like he was punched in the gut.

"That's what I meant though!" Kiba insisted, "How can the fact that my dad is a mean jerk ever be his fault?!"

Shikamaru couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had been tearing himself up over this, terrified about what they would think if they found out that Kiba's father had located them because he had too casual a tongue, and they didn't even care.

"You know, I always thought that you were really smart Shikamaru, but it looks like you are as stupid as the rest of us!" Kiba had tossed his arm around Naruto's shoulders and smashed the blonde's cheek into his own, cheesy grins spread across both of their faces.

"Tell you what, here's the deal. We'll try not to bug you so much, if you stop being a _moron_." Kiba announced.

Naruto's smile seemed a bit strained now and he pushed a bit away from the Inuzuka. "I won't ask your dad for help with training every night…I'm not trying to steal your dad…it's just, I've never had one…and I just wanted to know what it was like…I'm sorry."

Kiba looked like he had swallowed a lemon and Shikamaru stared in black shock, neither having expected the pure heartfelt honesty out of the boy. Suddenly they were both terrifyingly aware of the fact that Naruto was an orphan, and exactly what that meant. No one at home, no one to care.

"We promise we won't bug you anymore, but you have to tell us!" Naruto promised, eyes sparkling with determination.

"Yeah!" Kiba laughed, "How are we supposed to know if you don't tell us?!"

* * *

The next morning the boys woke to the still form of Shikaku Nara sitting at the edge of their outcropping, a very pregnant doe alongside him.

"Alright boys, it's time to go home."

* * *

Alright! So that's the latest update! Let me know what you think!


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

So…not dead! Also, sorry. That's about what I've got for you. Good news is I've started working on the next chapter already so…hopefully something else soon.

I had actually started on what will be chapter 16 first before I realized that I need to address the issues in this chapter first. So hopefully I did this justice and I have a head start on the next part.

Anyway, onto the next chapter.

* * *

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 15

* * *

Shikaku Nara shook his head as the boys all meandered back through the woods towards the house.

The minds of children were rather unpredictable weren't they? For all his supposed genius, even he could not follow the mental meanderings of his own child. He would never have thought that Shikamaru still had all of that guilt eating away at him. He would have thought that logic would have taken over by this point and the boy would have realized that he was not to blame for this whole fiasco taking place. But Shikamaru was so much like his father that at times the man seemed to forget that he was still just a boy, a child, and children can't always follow along to logical conclusions. They get hung up on emotions and fantasy and cannot move past it.

At the same time though, Shikaku felt a twinge of guilt of his own. He hadn't even realized that he was doing it, but he was ignoring his own child in the wake of figuring out the balance of the three additional ones that had been added so quickly to their household.

Hana was easy. In her later years of academy, she spent most of her time in class, training, or studying in preparation for becoming a genin. She mostly looked after herself, and only sought out the Nara parents for clarification questions and other small things. She was a hardworking and studious sort that applied her knowledge well in frequent and active training. She would make a fine ninja one day.

Additionally, she was not slacking off on her clan studies, if the seemingly endless piles of books of canine and other animal anatomy books he kept finding around her preferred study areas were anything to go by. She had jumped into veterinary studies in the wake of realizing her ease with chakra control in recent months and seemed to be enjoying the process very much, and somewhat enjoying having Shikaku carrying missives between her and her clansman that she was unable to contact until custody was returned to her mother.

The point though, was that Hana was set on her own and didn't require much active attention on his part.

Naruto and Kiba on the other hand - they required _a lot_ more active participation. Someone needed to be physically on hand with them to curb where their impulses would take them, otherwise with them playing off of each other they would go to greater heights than they would be achieving alone. And considering one of the pair was the village's resident prankster and the Nara clan head had no wish to see his home in shambles in the wake of some disastrous prank, he was going to keep a _stern_ and close watch on them both. Don't get him wrong, they have the possibility of being fine ninja one day but they needed instruction and guidance if they were to do so and a very hands-on approach with it to say the least. Alternate outcomes courses of action would result in…less than desirable outcomes.

But when it came to his own child, Shikamaru had always been just fine on his own, needing only a little nudging at best to see what his father was angling him to discover. Preferring to figure things out on his own and not have the interference, and he would undoubtedly interpret it, of his parents, Shikamaru was an independent child. He had taken to parenting his son in much the same way that his own father had seen to raising him. And in that he might have erred.

Yoshino was always telling him that Shikamaru was not just a smaller version of himself. Shikamaru was a child and would grow to be a different man than Shikaku. He needed to treat the boy like a boy and not like a short adult. But Shikaku hadn't listened. It wasn't just the women of the clan who could be stubborn. Nara men were smart, but they could get fixated on certain ideas just as any other man, and Shikaku had apparently mistaken his son for himself at that age.

Because he would have thought so, he had assumed that the boy would relish the time without the usually painstaking oversight that any heir, even of a clan as easy going as the Nara, would be under as they grow into the person that will be responsible for not only their immediate kin, but for every bearer of their name. The child was always ducking out of his responsibilities and lessons to go and lay on some random hill and watch the clouds go by anyway, just as Shikaku had done, as had generations before him.

But clearly he had made a mistake.

He swallowed thickly as their small group exited the shelter of the trees and they could begin to see the roofs of the houses of their clan members. Naruto and Kiba were jumping around at the front of their group and bolting towards the head house, where Yoshino could just be made out standing in the doorway, apron tied to her waist, indicating that there was food waiting for them when they came home.

He tapped Shikamaru on the shoulder and answered the questioning eyes with a small smile and a nudge towards the large barn where the doe would be birthed soon by the Nara clans own veterinarians. In Konoha, small animals were generally seen to by the Inuzuka clan, but large animals were looked after by the Nara. In addition to several pregnant doe that were currently being monitored, they had had a boar with an impacted tusk and an ill cow from out outlying village farm currently in residence for treatment.

Dropping off the now quite tired deer, Shikaku pulled Shikamaru along with him, away from any homes and questing ears, to have a conversation that need to be had.

Shikamaru had tense shoulders as he sat down, back against a tree, glaring at the ground and purposefully ignoring his father who sat down a few feet away with his back against a different tree and glancing up to the sky above.

"We need to talk son," his gravelly voice spoke softly in the calm afternoon.

Shikamaru grunted, his jaw tightening.

"This is part of the problem you know." Shikaku murmured, desperately trying to without a 'troublesome' that was fighting valiantly to be let loose. He cleared his throat, "You know, we Nara men are not big talkers, but I don't recall any of us taking vows of silence."

Shikamaru looked at his father with a raised eyebrow. "Huh?"

Shikaku smiled, "There we go!" He bore into his son's gaze in a way that wouldn't allow the young boy to pull away. "Shikamaru, we need to talk about this." He sighed, "I'm going to start by saying that I'm sorry."

His son looked startled, and jerked away almost reflexively, but his gaze still held. "You don't…"

"I do." He said firmly. "I was so caught up and trying to figure out the new dynamics of the three children coming into my home that I forgot to factor in my own child already in it." He bowed his head to his son in apology, finally breaking eye contact. "I haven't been the best of fathers to you in general, but in particular most recently."

"Old man…"

"Shikamaru," he tried to interrupt, but his own son shouted him down.

"No! You are a great dad! I swear! I just…" Shikamaru reached his hands out as though to find a far flung word and grasped at the air as he came up with nothing. "It's not your fault, I was just being selfish…"

Shikaku felt like he was being gut checked. His son's guilt over the whole situation was even overshadowing this whole interaction. "You are a child Shikamaru, and it is not selfish to seek the attention of your parents. Especially," he grimaced, "especially if you see others receiving it instead of you." He bowed his head again, unable to believe that he had lost track of his own child in the craziness of the situation. He of all people, an elite jounin of his village, should be able to keep track of the people under his own roof.

Shikamaru on the other hand was just being to look harassed by the whole situation. "Can we just agree that both of us were wrong and not do it again?" He had an embarrassed blush on his face and was once again studying the ground with seemingly deep concentration.

Shikaku chuckled at his son's unwillingness to discuss emotion. He was a true Nara through and through. And maybe that was part of the problem. He saw his son as a mini version of himself, associating all of the qualities that maturity and experience had granted him to his son in addition to physical and personality traits that were similar in nature. But he was still just a little boy, and this had been a sharp lesson to Shikaku to remind him of that. His son was still a child. An intelligent child, but a child nonetheless. And he would have to keep that in mind in the future and remember that maturity grows over time through experience and the lessons of life, this instance being one of them.

"We can go back to how we were before," he offered. "No after school training sessions, no…"

Shikamaru cut him off, "No, don't do that." His response was swift and determined and maybe even a little desperate. There was a forcefulness to his response that took Shikaku aback for a moment.

"But I thought that you didn't like them?" He asked his son in honest confusion.

Shikamaru looked up sadly and his father saw something odd in his eyes, an emotion that he hadn't seen there before and was having difficulty placing.

"Naruto…" he started, then bit his lip as he struggled to find a way to phrase what he wanted to say eyes drifting off as he focused on something beyond his father, "Don't take that from Naruto." He finally settled on. "He said…he said that it was like having a dad…" Shikamaru's voice was small, and wavered, and Shikaku wondered for a moment if he was going to see his son's tears. Those small dark eyes focused on his father once more and suddenly the man recognized the emotion in them, "Naruto doesn't know what it's like. I _knew_ that…I really did! But I didn't understand it…" Shikamaru took a shaky breath. "I knew he was an orphan, but somehow I forgot that that meant that he was all alone…If he can know what a family feels like…don't…don't take that away from him…" His son trailed off, seemingly unsure if he was finished or not, but not knowing what else to say.

Empathy. It was empathy that he saw in his son's eyes. It wasn't sympathy, because though it was a small example, he now knew what being ignored in your own home felt like, and he couldn't imagine what it meant to Naruto, who had to feel that from the entire village for all of his life. Sympathy would not be accepted by Naruto anyway; it was too much like pity. But empathy, it was a new level of understanding upon which a relationship of trust could be formed.

"We could just…all do it together right?" Shikamaru swallowed and made a mindless gesture with his hand.

"You want training?" He asked incredulously. Up until this point, Shikamaru would rather have had a tooth pulled than attend training beyond Academy.

His eight-year-old shrugged and refused to meet his father's eyes, but the jounin felt pride billowing up inside. Shikamaru was taking the lesson of this situation to heart and well. His son would be careful in his use of words, and he would be empathetic to his teammates, giving him a better understanding of team dynamics and help him build a team towards greatness.

He reached over and tugged his son into his side, squeezing him tightly in a one-armed hug. "That sounds like a good plan son."

Both wearing small smiles, the pair rose and lumbered into their home, things beginning to look up for them all.

* * *

Sorry again about the long wait. I'm going to go work on the next chapter right now!

Please feel free to leave any comments in a review to let me know how I am doing.


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